


Salvation

by arlives



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-23
Updated: 2015-04-29
Packaged: 2018-03-14 18:19:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 30,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3420806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arlives/pseuds/arlives
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aaron's growing guilt over his part in Katie's death sends him on a downward trajectory which leads his life and his relationship with Robert into dangerous territory.  Just when it seems he has no-one to turn to, he finds an unlikely ally...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was never meant to happen but it had and Aaron was powerless to stop it. He had learnt over the years with the turmoil of coming out and Jackson's loss that some emotions you just had to ride out holding on as tight as you could hoping you wouldn't fall off.

Watching Robert clinging tightly onto Chrissie at the pub on their return from the quarry was like having a knife stabbed through his heart and then twisted. He could not take any more and went up to his room, laid on his bed and thought back over how this cruel turn of events had begun. Ever since their tryst on the country road over 2 months ago his relationship with Robert had been like a rollercoaster ride. At times it felt like he was dating two different people. On one hand there was the business-like cold only after sex Robert but on occasions he had glimpsed another side – the supportive hug when Cain was ill and his 'fell for' admission just outside Home Farm.

Emotions and conflict had swept through his mind ever since their first kiss. He knew there would always be the stumbling block of Chrissie. He questioned what right he had to Robert; after all he was the third person in the relationship. Robert and Chrissie had been together for years and Aaron was coming between them. In the past, he had silenced his guilt with his assumption that Robert had been with Chrissie purely for the money and power that she would bring.

Opinions and comments about Robert from villagers who knew him of old were rarely positive; they all painted a picture of a man without morals and who would be out for anything he could get. This had been Robert's one advantage with Chrissie. She knew nothing of his past and the intense incidents that had drove him from the village where he grew up. And there was no doubt, Robert had charm and the ability to impress people with his self-assuredness. Maybe it was this that had hooked Aaron, however in some ways, he felt on a level with Robert due to the fact that he was not entirely comfortable with his sexual preferences.

Aaron had been out for almost five years and now had come to terms with his sexuality. He had no problems announcing to the world that he was gay, much like he had with Robert who had questioned him about his feelings towards his prospective wife in the pub all those months ago. The support from his immediate family and in fact the entire village had made his sexuality no big deal. On the other hand, Robert was still in denial, protesting he was straight when Aaron challenged him. He soon came to realise that whether Robert accepted his dual sexual preferences or not was immaterial, as it had not affected their relationship.

Waking up that morning in the hotel weeks back with Robert's armed casually draped over his body was like a dream, almost as if Chrissie never existed. He had wished it had been like this forever. It had been out of this world more due to the intimacy rather than sex. The latter was always fantastic with Robert; Aaron could tell that there had been many other men but none as intense. This was the first time since Ed, well if he was honest with himself since Jackson that he had allowed himself to fall so hard. Ed was a lovely man but as much as Aaron tried to convince himself, he was second best and he guessed that Ed knew that. The first few months on the run with Ed had been fun but it soon became apparent that the spectre of Jackson was coming between them. Jackson had been it for Aaron. He was the one who changed his life, finally allowed him to turn his self-loathing into self-acceptance. No-one would ever come close to Jackson, well until now.

His thoughts were violently jolted back to the recent cruel chain of events that had changed his life forever, and the life of many other villagers. The constant pain and guilt had been unbearable, searing through his very being whilst occupying his every waking thought. This burden had even left him seconds from taking his own life. The tears poured down his face soaking into his pillow. He no longer knew how to deal with it.

There was a quiet knock at the door, assuming it would be his mum, he told the visitor to come in.

A very unsure looking Robert came in. "Are you ok? You just disappeared from downstairs and after what happened at the quarry I just wanted to see you were ok."

"Lock the door." Aaron ordered in his breaking and emotional voice.

Robert noticed his red swollen eyes. "You are not ok, are you?" This was one of the few occasions when Robert had shown interest in his feelings. He said no more and just headed over to sit on bed next to Aaron.

They clung to each other, both understanding what the other was going through – the feelings of pain and guilt formed a unique bond between them. Then out of the blue, Aaron noticed Robert looking at him with an expression he had never seen before. It was one of need and longing.

"Aaron, I need you! Help me forget" Robert's eyes were begging him.

Robert leant over to him, and their lips ended up inches apart, both quivering in anticipation of what was going to happen next. Within seconds their lips crashed together. What happened next was a frenzy of need, all that mattered was taking away the feelings of pain, even if it was for these few moments.

Their clothes lay strewn across the floor, having been ripped off in the aggressive madness that followed. Their bodies moved together, each movement making the painful memories fade for a moment until an explosion hit both their bodies in unison.

Afterwards they lay on the bed cuddled up to one another. "I am glad you said to lock the door." Robert smiled uneasily. "I had better go before Chrissie wonders where I am. Thank you for your help tonight with Andy. You helped save his life and I will be forever grateful."

Then Aaron's expression changed as he got up and started to get dressed, the growing anger appearing in his face. "Why will you be grateful? Does it ease your conscience because your brother did not jump?"

Robert's face changed to its default setting when he was not getting his own way – like a scolded schoolboy who was being told off. "How can you say that? This is not about my conscience. This is about my brother and the fact he was about to end it all." He was matching Aaron's anger word for word, emotion for emotion. "And don't you forget that most of this mess is down to you because were so desperate to out me. Katie would be living happily ever after on Wiley's Farm with Andy if you had not sent that text."

Aaron was vulnerable after his near suicide attempt but he mustered enough strength to counteract Robert's latest guilt trip. "That is the last time you will mention that. Katie is now six foot under, your brother is safe for now and I will stay quiet. Just so you know I am doing this for Andy not you. Today has shown me that you do not know anything about me and you will always be the selfish, arrogant bastard I was always told you were. Stay out of my life. As you pointed out, what we had was nothing except meaningless sex. Go back to your manor house and enjoy what you have left of your fairytale life because I have never been surer that you will be the cause of your own downfall."

Robert looked like he had been hit by a freight train. "Why are you doing this?" He tried to place his hand on Aaron's cheek to wipe away the tears, but his move was blocked by Aaron's fist.

"Do that again and I will deck you. If you continue to bother me or my family again, I will topple your perfect life. You have always thought that you hold all the cards in this relationship but you don't. I can take away your perfect life in a second and I won't care about the fallout or who gets hurt as long as you suffer." Aaron explained venomously, leaving a shocked and speechless Robert in his wake…


	2. Chapter 2

The events of the last week were really praying heavily on Rhona's mind. Every morning on her rounds to the outlying farms she had seen Aaron punishing himself with a gruelling running schedule. The look on his face was not one of exhaustion, but of anger. She had never really seen him out running but why now and why push himself into the ground. Her thoughts drifted back to the turbulent months when Aaron came out and after Jackson's death when Aaron had begun self-harming. The look on Aaron's face had been eerily reminiscent of those times and she should know after having a ringside seat whilst living with Paddy.

But the question was how did this tie in with the latest goings on and mutterings between Chas and Paddy? She had questioned Paddy, but he had just fobbed her off with some explanation that there were problems with Aaron. This was confirmed by the looks and arguments between Aaron and his mum in the past few days. Then there was the most confusing piece of the puzzle where did the newly married Robert Sugden fit in. Watching Paddy and Chas march a sheepish looking Robert through to the back room made her wonder even more. She did not know Robert very well except through her dealings with the vet care at Home Farm but she did know he was very self-assured and would not be easily controlled.

She had watched events closely, but was no closer to finding out the truth until yesterday at the funeral. Things had kicked off when she noticed Robert and Aaron having a physical altercation outside the church and then the non-stop glares between them during the service, culminating with Aaron emotional exit from the church.

Rhona watched Aaron disappearing off into the distance. Her detective work made her suspect that Robert was somehow bullying Aaron and that Paddy and Chas were trying to stop it. But the one piece that did not fit was the attitude of Chas and Paddy who seemed so angry with Aaron. Surely they would be supporting him rather than blaming him. Rhona felt for him, as along with Adam and James having a go at him about the scrapyard, he seemed to be so isolated. He was punishing himself but no-one close to him seemed to have noticed.

Rhona did not know why but she suddenly felt the need to get involved, but she knew she would have to tread carefully. She just wanted to hug him.

That afternoon, Vanessa rushed back into the surgery. "I haven't got long. The job on the Trinity Farm is taking longer than I thought." She announced hassled.

"Do you want me to help you with it? I can meet you up there after my few appointments this afternoon." Rhona offered to her colleague.

"No thanks." Vanessa smiled. "But you could do me a favour? The White's dog is limping again so I said I would pop in to see him. They would bring him down to the village but they are all stressed with the Andy suicide business last night."

"What suicide business?" Rhona was taken aback by the news.

"Apparently Andy tried to drive himself into the quarry after leaving suicide notes. It took Aaron and Robert to talk him down. He has now moved into Home Farm so they can keep an eye on him. Mind you it seems like Chrissie is not happy about it. It must be hard having your wedding day overshadowed by a murder and a suicide attempt."

"How do you find out all of this gossip? I hope Andy is alright. I'll pop up in an hour or so." Rhona replied.

Vanessa rushed out of the door with extra supplies.

Rhona pulled up at the farm to be met by the sight of Chrissie and Robert having what looked like a heated discussion on the driveway.

"You are being unreasonable." Chrissie snapped at her husband.

"Hi." Rhona said sheepishly as she climbed out of the car with her bag. "I hope I am not interrupting anything. I have come to see Dog. Vanessa is caught up elsewhere so I said I would pop up and see him."

Chrissie put on her false smile. "No, thank you for coming. Lachlan is out at the shop so Robert will come with you. He is just in the back kitchen."

Robert glared at Chrissie before walking off to show Rhona where the patient was.

"So what's wrong with him?" Rhona asked Robert who was clearly in no mood for small talk.

"He is limping on his rear right paw. Lachie said something about him pulling it on a walk yesterday." He replied in a slightly friendlier manner.

"Ok, I'll take a look. I am sorry to hear about Andy. It's good that he has a brother like you looking out for him, not to forget a friend like Aaron." She was trying to dig a little and hoped she had not pushed it too far. But it did yield some results.

"Thank you, but I am sure anyone would do it for a loved one." She could hear the emotion in his voice, but was it due to the mention of Andy or Aaron.

Whilst she was examining Dog she felt Robert looking at her as if he was trying to work out if she knew anything from Paddy. She just acted professionally and got on with her examination.

"He'll be fine. He just needs some pain relief and rest. Only short walks on the lead for the next 7 days. It looks like muscle strain. I will check on him in a few days."

Robert managed a smile. "He is a border collie, keeping him rested will be nigh on impossible but I'll tell Lachie that he has to."

Chrissie appeared with a cup of coffee. "Rhona, come and have a cuppa. I never seem to get to talk to you."

She smiled. "Ok, I'm sure I can fit one in before next call."

"I'll leave you to it." Robert left the room.

"I am sorry for his mood. I think all this business with Andy and Katie is really getting to him. He feels with being away from the village for so long that he has to look after his brother."

Rhona smiled. "It is enough to get to anyone. Are you ok?" She could see the stressed look on her face.

"Yes I'm fine." She started to cry all of a sudden.

Rhona moved to sit next to her. "You're not, are you?"

"I feel selfish. This is not how I expected married life to be. Ever since our wedding day, Robert has been so distant. I know it is his brother but I think he should see me as his main priority. "

"Chrissie, I think you have to stop being so hard on yourself. Everyone has been affected in one way or another by the events of the past few weeks. You are only human. Robert loves you and I am sure if you give him time he'll be the perfect husband."

Chrissie calmed down. "I sure you are right but it does get too much sometimes."

Rhona finished her coffee and excused. She knew Chrissie had a point but in some ways she wondered why she sometimes acted as if she was Robert's mother rather than his wife. But one thing was definite- something was really bothering Robert and she knew somewhere along the way that Aaron was involved in it.

Paddy was waiting back at the surgery. He came over and kissed her. "How has your day been? It is terrible news about Andy isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. But he sounds like Robert is looking after him now so it should be fine?" Rhona dug for more insight into the issue.

Paddy's face changed. "Well it is nice to hear that he has a heart as normally he just looks out for himself."

"What do you mean?" Rhona asked half-heartedly as she did not want to arouse suspicions.

"Robert has a habit of using people and then dumping them. He is only out for what he can get. He can be a nasty piece of work." Paddy explained in an annoyed voice.

"You have known him for a long time. Maybe Chrissie will be the making of him."

"Hopefully." Paddy exclaimed. "But it remains to be seen as long as he doesn't go on hurting people like they don't matter."

Rhona realised that this was confirmation of her theory about Robert bullying Aaron, maybe because of his sexuality. She thought about how she could get close to Aaron, close enough to help him if that is what he needed or even wanted.

She turned around to see the answer – Buffy, the gorgeous brown eyed German Shepherd who was staring at her from behind the desk. A plan was taking shape….


	3. Chapter 3

The Buffy plan as Rhona had now named it was a risk. Clyde, the German Shepherd had been a lifesaver in many ways for Aaron who was trying to accept his sexuality all those years ago and the dog’s death had hit him hard. Paddy often told her that putting Clyde to sleep was one of the hardest things he had ever had to do especially in the circumstances. She looked down at Buffy and wondered how such a beautiful dog could be abandoned by its owners. She needed a new home and whilst she did not think that Aaron would be the one to provide it, she felt the dog could act as the bridge she needed to reach out to him.

Aaron was now burying himself in his work at the scrapyard, both to alleviate any guilt he felt from letting his best friend Adam down but mainly to stop himself pining for what he had lost when he told Robert to get out of his life. As much as he resented the way, Robert had treated him, he also craved him and how the relationship had made him feel. The excitement level of being with him far outweighed anything he had felt in the past, even with Jackson. It had been less than 24 hours since their last meeting and subsequent breakup but he already missed him.

He noticed Rhona entering the yard with a huge furry german shepherd. It was pulling like crazy and she seemed to be having trouble controlling it. 

“You look like you’re having fun.” He offered as she neared.

“You could say that. Please tell me you know where Paddy is. He said he was heading up this way this afternoon. I decided to take Buffy for a longer walk because she is going stir crazy in the surgery. I got a bit ambitious and hoped Paddy would be here to give us a lift home.”

He looked at her big brown eyes and knelt down to give her a stroke. Buffy soon cottoned on to his affinity for dogs and started to lick his face. “He’s not here. I haven’t seen him.”

“Oh darn..” Rhona exclaimed. “Well I guess that I am just going to have to brave the walk home.”

“Do you want a cuppa before you go for round two of the walk.” Aaron asked.

“That would be lovely. Maybe Paddy will turn up if I hang around for a while. You’re not too busy, are you?” She asked.

“No, it’s been quite quiet today and Adam has taken Victoria out for a late lunch.”

Aaron put on the kettle, pleased that he had a distraction. Luckily Paddy had promised him that no-one else knew about his affair even Rhona, so he could relax.

“So where is this beauty from?” Aaron asked about the dog who currently had her head buried in his lap hoping for a fuss.

“We found her abandoned by the railway line. She had been neglected but would not think that by how loving she is. Anyway we are just in the last stages of her medical treatment before she can be released to the shelter for rehoming.”

“She is a big softie.” Aaron continued.

“I know that, but she takes a lot of exercise.” Rhona laughed. “It is amazing how Vanessa and Paddy seem to go on housecalls when she is due her walk. It always seems to be left up to me.”

“So how is the scrapyard business going?” Rhona changed the topic.

“It’s fine, in fact Adam seems to have built up a large customer base. I have been a bit neglectful of the business so I am going to devote all my spare time to it. I have left my full time job at the garage.”

“I heard about James and Adam’s outburst at the pub.” Rhona explained. 

“Yeah well I deserved it.” He replied.

Rhona could hear the defeatist attitude in his voice, as if he wanted to be punished. Whatever Robert had done to him, the effect on Aaron had been profound. She found herself angry with Robert as no one should be that cruel. She had always been told he was a manipulator and he had obviously used this ability to find Aaron’s weakest point and destroy him. Maybe Chas was mad that he had allowed Robert to affect him that much. 

“I am sure you didn’t.” Rhona tried to reason with him. “Aaron, you are a caring person and you were just looking after your mum.”

“She doesn’t think that.” He replied. “She is taking out her upset over Katie out on me but I guess I deserve it.”

She was about to press the matter further when Adam came in. “We have a dog now, do we? Is it the new company mascot?” 

“No, sorry. I was just having a cuppa to see if Paddy turned up. I am going to head off now.” She explained.

Aaron got up. “Listen, I need to pop into the cafe for something. I will come with you if you like and I can show you how to walk a dog properly.”

She smiled. “Are you sure? That would be really helpful. My arm would appreciate it before it ends up out of its socket.”

Aaron took the lead and they headed on the 10 minute walk back to the village. 

“Thanks for this.” She smiled. “Pity you can’t take her out every day. She needs a good run.” 

He perked up. “I’ll take her on my runs if you like.” 

“Would you? I have noticed your new keep fit regime. That would be amazing.”

“Yes, I can swing by and collect her about 8am if you like and it will save you the bother later. It will only be for a few weeks anyway.”

“You are a lifesaver!” Rhona smiled. 

They left Buffy with Pearl at the vets and Rhona walked to the café with Aaron. “Let me buy you and Adam a cuppa to say thank you for the dogwalking help.”

“Ok, if you insist.” He managed a smile, the first she had seen from him lately.

As they were leaving the café, Aaron was just ahead of Rhona as Robert approached them. “I told you to stay away.” Aaron announced through gritted teeth, seething in anger.

“It is Rhona I want to speak to actually about Dog.” 

She was taken aback by the strength of feeling directed at Robert. “What can I do for you?” She asked professionally trying to contain her annoyance at his goading of Aaron.  
Aaron stormed off. Robert just stood there with his normal inane grin on his face. “Dog has been a little sick after his first lot of painkillers. What should I do?”

She smiled. “Just keep him on them and if he is still being sick in the morning, give me a ring and I’ll prescribe him another type.”  
“Thanks!” Robert smiled and climbed in his car.

Aaron arrived at 8am sharp to pick up Buffy. She told Paddy how he would be taking the dog out for a run and he seemed quite pleased that he would have something to keep him busy. Whatever was going on, Paddy was not as annoyed as Chas.

Rhona had already decided to just take the plunge. 

“Aaron before you leave? Can I just have a word?”

He nodded puzzled by her request.

“I am worried about you. Why is Robert being so horrible to you? You should report his bullying, it’s not acceptable.” She asked outright expecting a rebuffed response. “Did his warning from Chas and Paddy not work? I saw him going into the back with them last week and Chas looked mad.

However, the emotional floodgates opened. “It is complicated.”

“What is so complicated? He is bullying you.”

Aaron shook his head. “You don’t understand, Rhona. I love him.” He did not say anymore and just left with the dog.

Rhona could not believe what she had just heard. “It all made sense now. Aaron had obviously made a pass at Robert, he had freaked and was now taunting Aaron about the fact he was gay. This was becoming deeper by the second and Rhona wondered what she could do….


	4. Chapter 4

Aaron ran harder than usual, not that Buffy was complaining, matching him step for step. His mind was all over the place. He knew he would come across Robert on a daily basis but at the moment he was still raw from the abrupt end to their relationship. He needed to control his outbursts in front of others, god knows who he would spill his guts to next. At least Rhona was tied in with Paddy anyway so the damage would be limited.

His thoughts brought him back to only part of his life that he could control. He pushed himself allowing the hot and searing pain to cut through his feet. Every impulse of pain allowed him to release the pent-up emotions continuously building up in his inner being. This was his outlet, the only way he could cope with the intense feelings of self-hatred. His feet were already shredded by the over-exertion of his runs and the tightness of his shoes. Sometimes he felt like taking his shoes off completely and running bare-footed, but this could give away his secret, thus sending his life further out of his control.

He tried not to limp as he approached the vets. Rhona was waiting for him on his return.

“You look knackered.” She commented as she took the lead from him. “You’re not overdoing it, are you?” 

“No, I’m fine. I am just going to head home for a shower before work. I will pick her up same time tomorrow morning.”

He did not give Rhona a chance to reply before walking off. She could see his limp as he disappeared into the distance. 

Back at the pub, he climbed into the shower, turning the water much hotter than normal. He felt relief as he watched the blood washing down the plughole. This was the one form of release that he could count on and that could not be taken away from him.

Aaron kept his distance from Robert for the next few days and was glad that Rhona was not in the vets to fire more questions at him.

Meanwhile Rhona was heading up to see Dog at Home Farm. She was hoping that Robert would be in as she needed to gauge the situation further.

“Hi Rhona.” Chrissie announced. “Thank you for coming. I have a meeting now but Robert is in the living room with the patient.” 

“Thanks, Chrissie!” 

Rhona walked in on him giving Dog a rub on his tummy and chatting away to him. He heard Rhona enter. “Please don’t tell anyone I talk to the Dog. I would never live it down. How are you?”

“I’m fine.” She replied caught off guard by his jovial mood. “How is he?” 

“He’s still limping and now he has started holding that leg up. We have rested him like you said but there is no improvement.” 

Rhona examined the dog’s leg, pulling it back to see if there was a reaction. The dog whimpered. 

“I think we may be looking at cruciate ligament tear. They are not always obvious in dogs when they first occur but they can worsen and even tear completely as time goes on. I would recommend bringing him down to the surgery this afternoon if possible so we can x-ray it.” 

Robert looked worried. “What happens if it is a tear?”

“We would recommend surgery. You are more attached to this dog than you let on.”

“Yes, he is lovely. Even though he belongs to Lachie, he seems to spend more time in the office with me. He must be a good judge of character.”

Rhona tested the water. “I was just saying that to Aaron. Dogs can see right through people.”

She noticed an immediate tension in Robert as soon as the name was mentioned. “Yes, I heard Aaron had always been a dog person. You are close to him, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I spent a lot of time living with him when Paddy took him in. He has been through so much in his short life, but he still comes out the other side.” She explained trying to trigger a guilty reaction, but then the response perplexed her more.

“I have heard about his past and it seems like people do not give him enough credit for pulling his life around.” He said sounding like he cared.

“Yes exactly. It is hard to believe that some people would still punish people for being gay, isn’t it? He had such a hard time coming out.”

Robert’s barriers shot up in seconds. “You must be in a hurry. So shall I get Chrissie to bring him down this afternoon?” 

Rhona composed herself. “Yes that would be great... about 2.”

Robert nodded as he showed her to the door.

He had more or less admitted his guilt by clamping up at her comment but deep down she knew something did not add up. 

She was very surprised when Robert rolled up at the surgery with Dog. She was convinced that he would ask Chrissie or Lachlan to do it.

“Drawn the short straw again, have we?” Rhona asked. “He will be a few hours as I will need to sedate him. Do you want to call back for him in a few hours?” 

“I will call back at 4pm if that is ok.” He replied walking out into the reception and straight into Aaron who was just talking to Pearl.

The looks between them were intense but no words were spoken as Robert left in a hurry. “What can I do for you?” Rhona asked.

“I was just going to say that Adam and I are heading off early to Manchester in the morning so I cannot walk Buffy. I will take her for extra walk now if you want.” He went over and fussed the dog who had come to greet him.  
“That would be great.” Rhona exclaimed. “I will grab her lead.”   
Aaron left and headed off towards the bridge, only walking rather than running. He was walking along when he heard the familiar sounding engine of Robert’s R8 behind him. He turned around to see the car slow down and the window lower.

“I think we need to talk about how we are going to deal with bumping into each other as people will start to talk if we freak out like we have just done.”

Aaron sighed but he could not argue with Robert. “Ok, but make it quick.” 

Robert pulled over and got out of the car. “Which way are you heading? I’ll come with you for a few minutes.”

“So go on.” Aaron pushed him to continue. 

“Unless one of us moves out of the village we cannot go on like this. I need to accept we are over and move forward. We cannot allow what has happened to destroy us.” He continued.

“It is already destroying me. You are not the one who got her to the farm. I created this mess as you keep pointing out.” Aaron explained with tears appearing in his eyes.  
“Aaron, we are in this together.” He replied.

“No, we are not. We need to move on separately. Go back to your wife, Robert. I am not going to let you destroy me. I can do that all by myself.” He shouted cryptically.

“Now leave.” Buffy could sense Aaron’s anger and started to bark at Robert. 

Robert retreated back to his car and sped off. He looked back at Aaron through his rear view mirror just as a rogue tear started rolling down his cheek.

Aaron was left shaken by their encounter. However hard he tried to bury his feelings for Robert, they kept resurfacing and silencing them was becoming impossible. The intensity of his feelings scared him, leaving him feel like he was losing control again. He grabbed the lead tightly and started to run down the road at breakneck speed.

He pushed himself harder and harder until the pain in his feet became unbearable even for him to tolerate. He limped back to the surgery to drop Buffy off. Pearl was gone, there was only Rhona there, sitting at the desk filling in notes.

The minute she saw the distress on his face she panicked. It was ashen white and he looked like he was going to collapse. 

“What the hell?” She grabbed him urging him to sit down. “Aaron, what are you doing to yourself?” He pointed down at his right foot.

She carefully removed his shoe to reveal the extent of his problem. His sock was caked in blood. She pulled it off gently with Aaron shifting in the chair due to the pain.

“Oh my god.” She exclaimed as she noticed the wounds on the top of his feet, obviously infected due to his neglect of them. One wound was particularly concerning. There was slough and pus pouring out of it. “Aaron, you are going to get septicaemia if you don’t let me treat these now. This one needs to be sutured and the rest cleaned up.”

He knew he had no choice and followed her into one of the consulting rooms….


	5. Chapter 5

“Right, your feet should be fine for now. I have cleaned, sutured them and put some antibiotic cream on them to stop them becoming more infected. If you continue your crusade to punish yourself in this way, you will need to see a GP to get antibiotics or even worse be admitted to hospital due to blood poisoning; the choice is yours. “ She spelt out the consequences in a firm but caring manner.

Aaron wiped away the tears away from his very reddened and puffy eyes. “You don’t understand.”

“Aaron, you are right. I don’t understand but I am here if you would like to help me understand. I have been worried about you for weeks. Why are you so intent on self-harming again and why have Chas, Robert and seemingly Paddy got it in for you at the moment? No one is fighting your corner but I would like to help you if I can. I promise whatever you tell me will remain between us.”

Aaron sat back in his chair contemplating Rhona’s offer. For some reason he wanted to tell her everything about Robert whilst leaving out the Katie parts. He realised that he needed help and Rhona was someone he trusted.

“Ok, you can judge me but please wait until I am finished.” Aaron pleaded with her.

“Robert has been having an affair for the past few months. Chas and Paddy know about it and mum is furious that Katie was made out to be a liar before she died.”

“I still don’t get how you are to blame. What Robert does has nothing to do with you.” She was puzzled.

“It does when I am the one he has been having an affair with.” Aaron waited for the reaction from Rhona.

She looked at him in shock but then recomposed herself. “So you and Robert have fallen for each other and he is married. I would have never guessed that he was bisexual but that does not matter.”

“We have not fallen for each other. I have fallen for him, but it is clear to me now that those feelings are not reciprocated. Mum thinks I have been played and is very angry that I would go for someone like Robert…and Paddy just seems to back her up.”

Rhona rolled her eyes. “Yes he does have a habit of doing that. So do you think he is using you?” 

“I would say yes, but there are snippets of something else with him. Maybe he is dropping titbits so I continue to see him but a small part of me thinks…. hopes there is something more. Anyway it doesn’t matter, I ended it a few days ago.”

“So how does this link in with your self-harming?” She asked. 

The tears were forming again. “I have never felt like this before.”

“Even more than Jackson.” She probed. 

He just nodded. “And it hurts so much to see him married to Chrissie and I have hurt my mum by making Katie seem like a crazy stalker before her accident.”

“Oh I see. How did all this start, that’s if you want to tell me and please spare me any unnecessary details?” She smiled at the last comment.

She noticed a slight smile appear on his face. “He pursued me a few months back, pretending his car had broken down so he could make his move when I came out to repair it. Since then it has just been meetings on the spur of the moment and one night in a hotel, much like you would expect from an affair. We were supposed to meet a few weeks ago at a posh hotel but Katie put paid to that by arriving with Chrissie.”

“So is it more than an affair for Robert, do you think?”

“I honestly don’t know what he thinks. He is impossible to read. Apparently he has had quite few one night stands with men, so it is not just some new experimentation. He has admitted that he is falling me but was that just to string me along? The affair was supposed to finish as soon as he exchanged vows but he has pushed me to continue it. I cannot deal with it anymore so I ended it.”

“How do you see things going?”

“I don’t know. I know I cannot have the relationship I want with Robert. I mean there is nothing I would have liked more than to have an open relationship with him where we do not need to sneak around and everyone knows about it. But deep down I know ending it is for the best thing for us and probably for Chrissie. She is the innocent party in all this and that does make me feel guilty.”

“Aaron, I am probably speaking out of turn here but you need to start looking out for yourself rather than worrying about how everyone else is coping. You are so different to the person who came out five years ago and you have turned into one of the most selfless and loyal people I have met. The problem is that you devote so much time and effort looking out for other people that you neglect your own needs and feelings.”

“I do appreciate this, Rhona. It has really helped having someone listening to me without judging me”

She smiled. “I am in no position to judge you. You may not know this but I had a fling with Vanessa, mainly to fuel my drug addiction. But I will also say your mum is also not in a place to judge you for your affair with Robert. I think Chas is hitting out at anyone at the moment due to Katie’s death but don’t let that influence your decisions. You need to do what is right for you. I have a friend in York who specialises in self-harming problems, if you ever feel you need to see her, I will get her to fit you in.”

“It might not be a bad idea to talk to an independent person about it so anything you can arrange will be great. Just let me know how much it will cost as I have some savings.”  
“I will call in a favour and will cover any costs. I will do all I can to help you. Please come to me if you feel that you may self-harm again.”

Suddenly they were interrupted by a familiar voice shouting out. “Rhona, are you there? I am just here to collect Dog.”

“I’ll be a few minutes!” Rhona called back through the door.

“It’s Robert!” Aaron looked flustered. “I look awful, don’t I?” 

“You don’t look the best but there is no other way out of here except past him. Just go and I deflect any questions.”

Aaron appeared with Rhona. “So have fun tomorrow with Adam. Buffy will miss you.” She smiled as Aaron more or less ignored Robert, shutting the door behind him.  
The minute he was gone, Rhona smiled at Robert, but not before clocking the look of shock on his face. He composed himself almost immediately. “Is everything ok with Aaron? He looked upset.”

“I would rather not talk about it.” Rhona replied in a professional tone. “Anyway getting back to the matter in hand. Dog definitely has a torn ligament and I would recommend surgery. I will show you the x-rays and discuss the options. You don’t have to make a decision today but the sooner he has the op the better.”

She invited Robert into the consulting room. “Ok, let me show you.” She pointed out the injury and told him about the three surgical options.

He nodded. “I will have to go and discuss this with Chrissie and Lachlan. Can I get back you to you in the morning?”

She smiled. “Yes, no problem. I will contact the specialist orthovet in Hotton as soon as you decide which operation you would like to go ahead with. We can do the simpler op but I would recommend seeing a specialist for a better outcome.”

“Let Aaron know I was asking after him. It’s not business related is it, just I wouldn’t want him unable to approach me about any problems.” Robert was determined to get some insight.

She shook her head. “No, it’s not anything to do with the scrapyard. I think he is just having problems with his love life. But he did not want to talk about it and assured me it was now sorted.”

Robert looked stunned at her explanation. “Oh, I see. I will call you about Dog in the morning.” He replied, changing the subject before leaving in a hurry.

So there were chinks in Robert Sugden’s armour where Aaron was concerned. Rhona’s resolve not to interfere was slowly disappearing….


	6. Chapter 6

The pub was a very hard place to be especially with the battle lines being drawn due to the harrowing events of yesterday. Rhona and Paddy were tucked away in the corner of the pub trying not to take sides.

Rhona looked over at the White clan trying to sit quietly in the corner. They looked so uncomfortable apart from Lachlan who had a ‘hard to define’ look on his face. It was almost like a defiant look. He was not the most straightforward child even before the assault accusations.

“Why would they come out?” Paddy whispered. “I would have thought they would wait a while. Alicia might have been here tonight although Chas says she is struggling with even coming out the house at the moment.”

“I guess we just have to let the police get to the bottom of it although I do not believe Lachlan’s story for one minute.” Rhona whispered back. “David almost decked him outside.”

Paddy replied. “Well we all know who is telling the truth but there will no convincing Chrissie that her son is to blame. I suppose that is to be expected. After all he is her only child and she will be loyal to him.”

“Changing the subject, we are flat out for the next few days, aren’t we? It’s just that the rescue have been on the phone and can take Buffy on Thursday.” Rhona asked.

“Yes we are pretty busy.”

“What about if I asked Aaron to take her as he mentioned driving over the West to see some scrap metal businesses about building partnerships.” She suggested.

He smiled. “That might be just what he needs at the minute, a few days away from the village. Chas and he are not getting on well at the moment.” 

“Katie’s death has hit her very hard, hasn’t it? It is not just Aaron who seems to be getting it in the neck from her.” Rhona explained trying not to make Paddy suspect about what she did or did not know. She had decided to take the plunge and planned to interfere a little.

“I will talk to him when he picks Buffy up in the morning.” 

Rhona noticed Robert getting up and coming towards their table. “Hi!” he said sheepishly. “I think we should go ahead with the more complex operation with Dog. Can you arrange it and give me a call when to drop him off in Hotton? Here’s my mobile number.” He handed Rhona a card.

“No problem. They said they could fit him in on Wednesday late on and they will have to keep him in for a few nights, just to make sure he will rest and to get his pain under control. Border collies are notoriously bad patients after cruciate surgery. If you like drop him off about lunchtime tomorrow and I will take him over in the afternoon.”  
He smiled. “That would be much appreciated with everything that is going on.”

Paddy just looked at Rhona. “I cannot stand him, he is so smarmy since he joined the ranks at Home Farm. He thinks he is so much better than everyone else and he just messes everyone else’s life up to get what he wants.”

She looked puzzled. “Whose life has he wrecked?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Paddy replied.

Next morning Aaron arrived at 8am as planned to pick up the dog but just for a gentle walk rather than a run. “Hi Rhona.” He announced chirpily.

“Come in here a moment.” Rhona ushered him into the room. “Take your shoes off. I’ll see if your feet are healing.” She took a seat to examine his feet a little easier and peeled back a few of the dressings. 

“They look good.” She smiled, pleased that they did not look infected.

“I don’t know how to repay you, Rhona, for all you have done.” 

“Are you busy for the next few days?” She asked.

“No, just hanging around the scrapyard.” 

“I have an appointment to see Beth in York if you can make it. She said between 2-3pm would be perfect.” 

“That was fast. Of course I’ll go because even though I feel myself relapsing I still want it to stop.” He explained. “I need to get in control of my life.”

“I also have a favour to ask.” She started. “Buffy has a place on Thursday at the Specialist Rescue Centre in Cumbria. I am snowed under at the moment and I know you mentioned about heading over to that part of the world for the scrap business.”

He smiled. “So you want me to drop her off?”

“That would be amazing if you would. I can throw in a cottage for a few nights. My friend owns one and she says you can stay there as it is not booked much at this time of the year.”

“How many friends have you got?”

“I was quite the party animal at University. Ask Vanessa!” 

“I don’t need to know.” Aaron looked at her with a sarcastic look. “I’ll go with Buffy and a few nights away from the village could be just what I need. If I pick her up at 10am tomorrow, I will head off.” He replied.

The following morning, events at Home Farm were going from bad to worse. Lawrence had taken Lachlan for a drive into Hotton whilst Chrissie and Robert were at each other’s throats.

“I supported your family when Katie died on my wedding day. Do you think I wanted to take Andy in? The least you can do in return is show support for my son.” Chrissie fired at Robert who was not jumping to Lachlan’s defence.

“You honestly believe that Alicia would date a 14 year old. Lachlan has form and what about all those photos we found on his camera. They weren’t exactly posed photos, they were taken from a distance, more like he was stalking her.”

“Robert, he is innocent. I believe him 100% and even if they weren’t dating, you must admit that Alicia makes some very dubious fashion choices. How can you expect a 14 year old boy to look the other way?”

He shook his head in anger. “Chrissie, there is a huge difference between Lachlan ogling a woman and sexually assaulting her. Did you not read the police report Alicia filed? This was not some quick fumble, this was much worse. Even you were horrified about how he was looking at women on the porn sites. I am not saying he needs locking up but he needs serious help. Brushing it under the carpet will make him think it is ok to do it again. I will support you as much as I can, but I cannot go on as though nothing happened and neither can you.”

“Robert, you need to decide if you are part of this family and decide where your loyalty lies.” Chrissie shouted at him.

He sighed looking at his watch. “I said I would drop Dog in for his surgery at lunchtime.”

“Well don’t expect me here when you get back. I am taking Lucky down to London for a week to stay with Aunt Polly. He needs to be away from this village rabble who are now baying for his blood. When you are ready to apologise, call me.”

Robert grabbed Dog and put him in one of the 4x4 owned by Home Farm. He was not going to back down on this one and wondered what married would have been like if all the horrific events of the past few weeks had not happened. His thoughts drifted to Aaron.

Rhona was trying to talk to Robert about the operation but his mind was obviously elsewhere.

“How is Aaron doing this morning? I saw him leave when I was down the shop earlier. Is he going anywhere nice?” He asked trying not to be suspicious.

“You miss him, don’t you?” Rhona tested the water.

“Who?” Robert looked surprised. 

“I think we both know who I am talking about. It was painful to watch last night in the pub with Chas and Paddy watching both of you like a hawk.”

“He told you!” Robert replied without naming Aaron. “Who else has he told?”

“I knew something was wrong from watching you being escorted by Paddy and Chas to the back room of the pub a few weeks ago. It didn’t take much to join up the rest of the dots.”

“So let’s have it.”

“Have what? I am fighting Aaron’s corner here. I will not tell anyone about your affair.” Rhona explained.

“So why bring it up?” 

“I want to offer you the chance to get out of the goldfish bowl for a few days. It must be annoying having people watch your every move.”

“I don’t get it.” 

“Let’s put it this way. Aaron is now on his way to the Lake District to drop off Buffy at the German Shepherd Rescue. He also has some appointments at some scrap metal places so he is staying over for a few nights. He is staying in a cottage of one of my friends.”

She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. “I have the address on this piece of paper. You have a simple choice to make. If you want this piece of paper, I’ll give it to you but on the promise that you are not going to create more stress and guilt for Aaron. He doesn’t need it, he punishing himself enough. If you don’t take it, I get it and Aaron will learn to deal with it.”

He didn’t hesitate, he just looked at her, putting his hand out for the slip of paper. “Thank you!” He replied gratefully. “Does Aaron know I might be coming?”  
“No, it will be surprise.” Rhona smiled as he headed out of the door.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N For the purpose of this story, Robert burnt down the caravan but he did not push Katie before she died. All events happened at Wylie’s farm except there was no physical force used by Robert. Katie ran away with the phone but then fell through the floor.

 

Robert left the surgery and walked straight into a battlezone outside the Woolpack. He saw David heading towards Chrissie and Lachlan with a look of fury on his face. He ran to intercept, telling him to back off. 

“Calm down and back off.” Robert put his hand up to stop David’s advance.”

Meanwhile Alicia was screaming at Lachlan to tell the truth, but that just spurred Chrissie on further in her hate filled rant. “Of course, butter wouldn’t melt in your mouth. You know exactly what you were doing, grooming a 14 year old boy like that.”

Robert was uncomfortable with the way this was heading. Chrissie was being way out of order, made even worse when she called Alicia a paedophile. He gave David and Alicia an apologetic look, something that did not go unnoticed by Chrissie.

“Lucky, get in the car. We are going away.” She snapped. “I am not going to let these people come at you with their pitchforks.” 

Lachlan climbed in the car, closely followed by Chrissie.

Robert followed his wife to the car. “Chrissie, that was very harsh.” He announced not wanting to tell her his true feelings. 

“Right Robert! I will be back in one week by which time I expect your complete loyalty to this family or your bags packed.” She did not even give him a chance to reply and sped off.

He just stood there in shock. What had just happened? His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of sobs coming from Alicia as she hung to David.

Robert went over to them. “Alicia, I am so sorry. That was unforgivable.” 

David was furious. “Robert just go away. We don’t need your opinions. You can help by staying away from us, or even better convince that moronic family to move out of the village for good.”

For the first time in years, Robert felt seriously torn between his life as a White and the emotional tug from the village where he grew up. He drove back to Home Farm, packed a bag and then headed off to the Lake District in his R8. He needed to clear his thoughts, as they had become so clouded by the events of the past few months. Hopefully Aaron would accept him being there…

Aaron sat down on the sofa at the small but cosy cottage. Buffy was laid by his feet looking up at him with those large brown eyes. He was seriously having doubts about whether he could give her up for adoption. He thought back at the first therapy session he had attended the previous day. Although the session was mainly a first assessment and information gathering exercise he had left hopeful that he could make progress and even beat his urge to self-harm.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. He assumed it would be the owner of the cottage so he opened the door with a smile. 

He was so shocked to see a nervous looking Robert standing at the door sporting a new and very cute haircut. 

“Hi.” He said quietly, speaking much like he had when he first made his move on that country road.

“Robert, what the hell are you doing here? I thought that I had made my feelings clear.” Deep down, Aaron was more shocked than angry. 

“Rhona offered me the address of this cottage so we could spend some time without having Chas and Paddy watching over us.” He explained. “But if you want me to leave I will without question. I was just hoping we could have a talk before you tell me to get on my way. There are some things I want to clear up.”

Aaron could see he was being sincere although he had only had a few of the briefest glimpses of him in this mood. “Ok, come in.”

Robert smiled and came in. “Thank you for agreeing to talk to me.”

“Do you want a coffee?” Aaron asked as he headed into the kitchen.

“That would be great.” Robert smiled.

Aaron came back through the sitting room and made a point of sitting on the other sofa as he found it difficult to keep his hands and lips to himself if he was in close proximity to Robert. “How did you get away with leaving Andy at Home Farm by himself and how did Chrissie allow you to come away?”

“Andy is staying at the pub with Diane and Vic and Chrissie has stormed off after I failed to back Lachlan.” 

“Oh I see! Mum rang me to tell me about Alicia and the assault. Lachlan is a creepy kid, how do you live with him?”

“I have never been allowed to pass comment about him and if I try then Chrissie soon reins me in. He has always been part of the package of being with Chrissie. But I could not keep quiet this time. There is no way Alicia would groom him or even give him the time of day in a romantic sense.”

Aaron looked serious. “So is the fact Chrissie has dumped you for a week what made you come here?” 

Robert shook his head. “I am not going to answer that question. I was wondering if we can wipe the slate clean and get back to basics to see if we have any chance of continuing what we have had in the past.”

Aaron was impressed by his sincerity. “Ok, I will try not to second guess what you are thinking; not that I ever could. You are such a closed book, Robert.”

“I know that is some of the problem, so let’s spend the next few days getting to know each other. We might find we have something in common other than the obvious.” Robert smiled trying to control his flirtatious behaviour.

Aaron was having difficulty processing this version of Robert and could not help but think he was saying what Aaron wanted to hear in order to win him back.

“Ok. Let’s see how we go but I don’t remember inviting you to stay for a few days.” He teased Robert. 

“Can I stay? I’ll take the sofa.” He replied hoping that would not be the case but he did not want to push their fragile truce to breaking point.

“Do you want to come for a walk now? We might as well take advantage of the lighter nights. Buffy will drive us mad otherwise. “ 

Robert nodded. “Yes, that would be great. I need to stretch my legs after my drive. It is a nice car but not the most comfortable to drive. Where do you want to go?”

“How about around the lake?” 

“Ok.”

Aaron grabbed the lead and they headed off towards the shore. It was a lovely March afternoon with the sunshine bouncing off the water. “So what do you think Rhona’s plan was?”

“I think she is trying to play matchmaker.” Robert offered his opinion. “But I do now know why?”

“She said she is fed up of Chas and Paddy watching us so closely. I wonder if we did get back together how we would deal with my mum. She will not back down easily and she thinks you are using me.”

Robert became uncomfortable at that suggestion but then he opened up a little. “I can see why your mum would think that. I have been guilty of using you and then dumping you while I ran back to Chrissie. But I always thought that you were aware that this was part of the deal until you dropped the L bombshell. I guessed you said it to stop me marrying Chrissie.”

“Can we leave that out for now and just concentrate on getting to know more about each other?”

“Ok that sounds like a plan.” Robert said with a smile.

“So, tell me about your time away from the village.” Aaron asked. “I mean why did you flee?”

“Just some family problems!” Robert did not feel ready to open up about Max King and his involvement in his death. “My father always favoured Andy and after my affair with Katie and other failures he could not look at me in the same way again. I have devastated when he died, because I did not get the chance to make up with him. Coming back for the funeral was one of the hardest days of my life and when Andy asked me to stay, I felt torn. It was then I decided to turn my back on Emmerdale and to concentrate on my new life with the Whites. I knew my future lay with them although I did not expect to marry the boss’s daughter.”

Robert went onto explain how he met the Whites and how Chrissie had been introduced to him. He did not go into any details of his feelings about her and just talked about generalities. Aaron wondered if that was because Robert did not want to talk about it or was trying to keep him onside.

“It’s getting late. There was a nice looking pub in the village. I’ll treat us to dinner and you can tell me about Jackson.” Robert suggested.

Aaron was taken aback by this request. “Ok, are you sure you want to hear about him?”

“Yes, I do. Let’s face it he was a major deal in your life.” He conceded….


	8. Chapter 8

Aaron was amazed at how much Robert seemed to have chilled since arriving at the cottage. He did not respond with his usual quips in response to whatever Aaron said and he did seem genuinely interested in what he had to say.

Robert arrived with two pints. "I have ordered some burgers, hope that's ok?"

"Yeah fine!" Aaron sat back and smiled at him. "This feels really odd having no one watching over us. I have had enough of my mum watching our every move."

"Me too. I could feel her eyes boring into me the other night at the pub and we were sitting at opposite ends of the pub." Robert laughed.

Aaron started to tell him about Jackson and how he helped Aaron to deal with who he was by supporting him coming out.

"Poor Paddy." Robert commented. "I bet you pack quite a punch. So you had a hard time coming out, didn't you?"

He nodded. "Do you think you will ever open up about you know what…" Aaron wondered if he had overstepped the mark by asking.

"Aaron, I really am not sure. I like to think I am just attracted to a person and the gender of that person is irrelevant. I don't get this obsession people have with labelling things. Why does everything have to fit in a box."

Robert went on. "I do think it is amazing how you go around being open about your sexuality and no one bats an eyelid. You were so upfront with me about being gay in the pub that afternoon. You know I was interested back then, don't you?" He was openly flirting.

"I guessed that looking back now. I am sorry for putting pressure on you to come out and to sacrifice your life at Home Farm. I know now I had no right to ask that of you. Let's just agree to take one day at a time." Aaron explained.

"That is the best idea I have heard in a long time. Let's just enjoy some time away from the village. Do you want me to come with you to the scrapyards tomorrow as I may be able to use my charm to bag you some new clients? Not that I don't have faith in your abilities."

"That would be great, Robert. After all you have 10k resting on the success of this business. I am supposed to be taking Buffy in the morning to the rescue."  
"You don't want to, do you?" Robert gave Buffy a stroke as she lay peacefully under the table.

"I might ask mum if I can keep her. I miss having a dog around."

"She is adorable…. The dog I mean, not your mum. Chas really hates me. Paddy and her really gave me a good talking to and warned me off of you."

Aaron defended her. "She is just looking out for me, that's all."

"I don't think she would ever accept us, would she?"

"Probably not!" Aaron announced. "But I am not a child anymore and I can make my own choices. To be honest she has a real cheek as she has not had a lily white past as I am sure you have heard. But she is still my mum and I love her so much."

"It's nice she looks out for you but she is a bit of a Rottweiler. I don't think she will give up this vendetta without a fight."

They talked as they ate their dinner and finished up their pints.

"Can we head back to the cottage? I am getting tired." Aaron yawned. They wandered back.

"I'll make us a cup of coffee." Aaron wandered through to the kitchen closely followed by Robert. He reached for the kettle but then he felt a warm breath on the back of his neck and a pair of familiar arms sliding around his waist. He knew he should react and push him off but he was paralysed. He felt Robert's soft lips making contact with the back of his neck. The feelings of pleasure from one touch of his lips were indescribable.

Aaron turned around to break the connection. "What are you doing, Robert?"

Robert smiled back. "What do you think?" Suddenly he plunged his lips on to Aaron's.

He felt himself asking Robert to stop in his head, but it was half-hearted. He wanted him to continue. He had only ever felt electricity like this when he was with Robert. Aaron kissed him back. The kissing was becoming hot and steamy. Before they both knew it, they were heading towards the bedroom.

Aaron was woken by the spring sunshine beaming into the room. He fell asleep again only to be woken to the feeling of a weight on top of him. Still half asleep and with his eyes still closed, he suddenly felt a wet tongue running across his face. "Robert, this is taking it too far."

He heard a sleepy groan in his ear. "Aaron, what are you talking about?"

The voice was coming from next to him, not from the thing lying on her. His eyes shot open to the sight of a 100lbs German Shepherd lying on top of them both.

"Buffy, get off the bed." Aaron ordered. The dog obeyed immediately and left the room with his tail between his legs.

Robert laughed. "You thought that was me on top of you trying to seduce you."

Aaron was embarrassed. "It was a genuine mistake."

"Buffy is about 70lbs. I am 170lbs. There is a big difference."

"I was half asleep, although maybe I should have been a little suspicious by the slobbering when she licked me." He laughed, soon joined by Robert.

"Did you sleep ok?" Robert asked.

"Yeah I did. Maybe it was having some company that helped."

"My pleasure." Robert said soon realising his poor choice of words.

"Was it now?" Aaron flirted back. "Maybe I'll let you share the bed tonight too if you're good."

"I'll start the day by cooking some breakfast. Luckily I went shopping on the way here or we would be starving." He headed through to the kitchen.

"You're spoiling me, Robert." Aaron smiled as he sat down to a full English. "This looks as nice as Diane's cooking. Where did you learn to cook?"

"Living in the White household made it necessary to be able to cook whole menu plans at the last minute to cater for surprise guests. How much I hate those business evenings where you just want to chill and you have to spend the evening mingling with some of the most boring people on the planet. I love this, being domesticated and not having to worry what I look like and what people think of me."

Aaron leant over the table and kissed him. "You look very nice although I do miss your messy bed hair."

Robert was about to reciprocate when Aaron's phone rang. "Stay quiet for a minute while I take this."

"Hi mum!" Aaron said cheerily. "No everything is going great. I am just about to head out on some business meetings now. I'll be back Friday evening… about 7pm"

Robert smiled at Aaron as he talked away.

"That is ridiculous!" Aaron's face changed. "How can that happen?"

He talked for a few more moments before hanging up.

"What's wrong?"

"You may not like this. The police aren't taking the matter any further with Lachlan due to insufficient evidence and rumour has it that Chrissie is talking about suing Alicia through the civil court for grooming him."

Robert's face dropped at the news. Aaron could see that he was alarmed by this development but why?


	9. Chapter 9

Whatever was bothering Robert had really changed his demeanour and made him put his barriers back up.

As they got ready to go out, Aaron was not getting much response from him, his mind was clearly elsewhere. "What do you think I should do about Buffy?"

"I don't know. It's your decision." Robert replied curtly.

"I just asked Robert. Why have you suddenly gone all moody?"

Robert glared at him. "It's nothing!"

"It can't be nothing!" Aaron replied pushing him.

"My wife is going through hell with her son. Do you not expect me to be bothered by that?"

"Well just go back to her. Find out where she is on holiday and join her. Don't let me stop you. While you decide I am going out for a walk with the dog."

Robert huffed back. "I might just do that."

Aaron knew that the way he had reacted was the major problem in their relationship. When pushed away by Robert, Aaron reacted by going into a huff and storming off. This happened all the time and the question was always who would back down and apologise first. If Robert was going to keep flinging Chrissie in his face, he was going to end it as it would destroy both of them.

Robert found him sitting by the lake on a seat stroking Buffy. He watched for a moment from a distance before approaching Aaron.

"Aaron, can I sit down?" He asked in a calm tone.

"It's a free world!" Aaron replied.

He took a seat. "I am sorry for my outburst. I think we need to work on this part of relationship. We both seem to get wound up, lose the ability to discuss the matter calmly and then run off."

Aaron looked at him. "I was wrong for taking off but it's just how I have always dealt with problems."

He was puzzled by Robert's use of the word – relationship – and wondered if it was just another way to keep him hooked. He realised they both had a long way to go if there was any hope of a long term future. Not taking offence at everything was something they would both need to work on.

"I just have something on my mind that I cannot discuss at the moment as I need to work out what to do about it. It has nothing to do with us being together."

Aaron leant over and kissed him. "I am here to listen if you need to talk."

"Thanks, that means a lot." Robert smiled kissing him back. "Anyway about your dilemma, I think you should keep her."

"I think I will just ring Rhona and ask her permission." He took out his mobile and dialled.

Rhona was just sitting at home enjoying her morning off when her mobile rang. She was worried when she saw it was Aaron as he usually texted.

"Hi Aaron." She said nervously. "How are things?"

"It's going great and thank you for my surprise." He replied making her happy that she had made the right decision.

"I have a question to ask."

"What is it?" Rhona asked puzzled.

"I want to keep Buffy. Is there any chance of her not going to the rescue and coming to live with me at the pub? I will need to convince mum about it but Buffy will win her over."

Rhona laughed. "I had an idea that would happen. No problem. I will call the rescue and explain that we have someone lined up for her. They will be happy that they don't have another dog to care for and rehome. When are you heading back?"

"Tomorrow afternoon. I have arranged to drop the cottage key at Amy's house at 4pm. Does Amy drink wine as we will buy her a nice bottle?"

Rhona liked the fact Aaron had used 'we' and knew her plan had worked as intended. "She loves any red wine."

Aaron ended the call. "Can I ask you a question?"

Robert nodded.

"Would you mind if I call you Rob as find Robert so stilted and posh?" Aaron explained.

He smiled. "Of course you can. Vic and Andy often use it, so it's fine."

"What time is our first appointment?" He asked.

"1.30pm." Aaron replied

"Well looks like we have a few hours to waste. Do you fancy heading back?" Robert replied suggestively.

"I was thinking the same thing." Aaron had a familiar glint in his eye.

They walked back to the cottage.

After a quick pub lunch, they arrived at Whitehaven for their first appointment. "I think it is going to look good turning up in your car." Aaron explained, enjoying the newfound intimacy in their relationship that was a result of their uninterrupted time alone for the past few days. He would have loved to stay away for longer but he knew they would have to get back to reality tomorrow.

The meeting went well, as did the next two, all resulting in a deals worth a lot of money to the business. "I will call Adam and tell him."

"You are very close to Adam, aren't you?"

"Yes he is my best mate and I would trust him with my life."

Robert felt a pang of jealousy. He realised something very important. "I wish we were like that." He announced to a very surprised Aaron.

"What do you mean?"

"Just think of it this way, we like to be different. Some people go from being best friends to lovers, we just like to do it the other way around. Nothing wrong with being different. I would like us to become closer as friends. Saying that I think we have talked more in the past few days than we ever have before and I do like spending time with you… a lot and I don't mean for the obvious reasons." Robert replied with a grin.

They were soon back at the cottage with some supplies from the shop. "I'll make dinner for us. Do you want to pop to the pub for a few or stay in?"

"How about staying in tonight? We could watch a movie or something. I could get the fire going if you like." Aaron replied.

"Sounds good." Robert smiled still taking a while to get used to spending domesticated time with Aaron.

After dinner they snuggled up on the sofa watching a movie. Aaron loved having this time with Robert. They were soon interrupted yet again by Chas's nightly call.

"Does your mum have a spycam on us?" Robert groaned as he released Aaron from his arms so he could take the call.

"Hi mum." Aaron said as he sat up. "No, I'll be back tomorrow afternoon still. How are things in the village?"

The Alicia assault was still the main topic of conversation. He knew he shouldn't but he decided to test Robert's reaction.

Once he hung up, he looked at Robert. "Mum is all up a height. You may have some trouble when you get back in the village. The villagers are really turning against Lachlan, demanding action be taken since the police are doing nothing."

The reaction from Robert was instantaneous. He sat up. "I am not going to let that happen. I cannot stand by. I have to intervene whoever gets hurt in the process."

"What are you doing to do?"

"I am going to blow the lid off the whole situation. It's not right."

"So you are going to take on the whole village to protect Lachlan?" Aaron explained.

"Yes, I am going to protect Lachlan but not from the villagers… from himself and Chrissie. Aaron, this is not the first time Lachlan has done something like this. He stalked a girl in his last school to the point where she was frightened to leave her home. Her parents were adamant about reporting him to the police but the offer of money from Lawrence and the promise to leave town was enough to placate the family. That is why we moved house."

Aaron put his hand on Robert's to show support. "You have just shocked me. You are willing to lose everything at Home Farm to shop Lachlan to the police."

Robert paused for a moment. "I am starting to wonder what there is to lose. Maybe what I want has been right in front of me all along." With that he pushed Aaron down on the sofa kissing him passionately.


	10. Chapter 10

They slept in the next morning enjoying the last chance of being together for a while as Robert was going to move back in Chrissie at Home Farm until he could convince Lachlan and Chrissie that making a full admission to the police was the best way forward. She had texted to say that she was coming home early the following day as there were major problems at one of her salons. She was clearly in no mood to back down on Robert’s stance and Lachlan’s guilt as she had also texted to say she expected an apology.

“Are you uncomfortable with me moving back in with Chrissie? I will be making waves soon enough so I don’t think she will be trying to seduce me. To be honest we could go for an annulment as we have not done anything since the wedding.”

Aaron smiled as he sat up in bed. “I get the picture, Rob. Don’t tell me anymore. I am fine about you moving back in. You need to do right by Alicia as she did nothing to deserve any of this.”

“I also need to do this to protect any other girl he takes a shine to. Chrissie’s behaviour in defending him without question is more or less sending the signal that it is alright for him to do this again.”

Robert got up to make them some coffee. 

When he was out the room, Aaron called Adam to tell him about the planned appointments that day and to see if he wanted to meet for a drink at the pub when he got home.

“Hi Adam, how are you?”

Suddenly Robert appeared with their drinks and spoke not realising that Adam was on the other end of the line. “So are we heading off soon?”

Aaron signalled for him to stay quiet but knew it was too late. “Yes, that was Robert. He was in this part of country on business and knew I had a few meetings so invited himself along. You know what he is like.” He made a face at Robert who smiled back.

“Did he fall for it?” Robert asked as he passed him his coffee and climbed back into the bed.

“Yeah he did. He does not suspect about us for one minute.”

“Can I just ask you something? You don’t have to talk about it but why are you harming yourself at the moment. Is it the guilt of the death?” Robert did not say her name. 

Aaron looked unsettled. “Yeah it is…” He looked down at his cup not wanting to make eye contact with him. “I am getting therapy for it now. Can we just leave that subject until we get back home as I want to enjoy our last few hours of privacy?” He took the cup out of Robert’s hand and kissed him.

Chas was just popping to the shop and she bumped into a very hassled Adam. “Adam, are you ok? Missing Aaron?” She smiled.

“I could do with him here but he is making some spot on progress in Cumbria. He has signed up three new deals with some exporters to Ireland.”

Chas smiled with pride. “I am so happy that he was got stuck into the business. I told you he would come good.”

“Well he has stepped up to the plate although I am not sure if we can pin all this latest success on him, I bet Robert is using his sales technique to bag some business. He definitely has the gift of the gab.” Adam laughed.

“What is Robert doing there? I thought he was a silent business partner.” Chas hid her increasing anger at this news.

“He does stay out of most of the business but Aaron says he offered to meet up to see if he could be any help. He had a business meeting out that way anyway.”

Rhona and Paddy were having a spot of lunch at the Woolpack when Chas stormed into the pub; there was no mistaking her mood by the look on her face.

“Paddy! Can I have a word through the back room?” She barked at him.

Paddy gave Rhona an apologetic look. “This won’t take long!” He said in a quiet voice.

He followed Chas through. “What’s happened?”

“Well guess what!” she announced. “Robert has followed Aaron to the Lake District. They both promised me that it was over. I am going to sort this out. Do you know where this cottage is?”

“I know roughly but it is a big village with lots of cottages. I will have to ask Rhona.” Paddy replied in a concerned tone.

Suddenly Rhona appeared. “Ask me what?” 

Paddy started to stutter nervously. “We were just wondering where the cottage is where Aaron is staying?”

Chas joined in making sure she did not betray the obvious bad mood she was in. “I was going to take a drive up to see him as I was worried about him.”

Rhona glared at her and decided to open fire. “No, Chas. You were worried about Robert being with him.”

“What?” Chas asked obviously confused by her statement.

“I am not going to be give you the address, in fact you and I are going to take a drive up to the Lakes so I can show you. And on the way we are going to have a nice little chat about Aaron and Robert. Paddy, can you handle things at the surgery?”

Paddy and Chas were both speechless. “Ok…” Chas replied, not knowing how else to react.

Rhona was in a determined mood as they headed off in her 4WD. “So what are you so angry about?”

Chas replied. “I guess you know about Robert and Aaron. When did Paddy tell you?”

“He didn’t! Aaron told me.”

“Why would he tell you?” Chas asked with an innocent look.

“He felt like he had no one else to turn to.” Rhona was straight with her. “You haven’t exactly been in the best mood with him recently.”

“I was upset about Katie and the fact she knew about the affair. Both Robert and Aaron made it look like she was crazy.” 

Rhona looked at her. “So what were they supposed to do? Do you really think they could foresee her death? In some ways she was to blame as she had an unhealthy interest in a matter that did not even concern her. Should they have told Katie about their affair so she would not look like she was going mad? An affair is normally secretive and as you know from your past affairs you will go to any lengths to lie and hide it. I know I did when I had my fling with Vanessa. I just curious why you feel you have the right to judge Aaron and Robert.”

“He is my son.” Chas argued back. “And I will stop at nothing to protect him.”

“Does that include treating him like a child who cannot make his own decisions and mistakes? Aaron has been through more than most people would go through in a lifetime. He is loyal and caring, almost too much.”

“But Robert is using him! Are you telling me that he will leave Chrissie for Aaron?” 

“I don’t know the answer to that and I truly believe that even Robert does not know that yet. From what Aaron told me I think Robert has some very intense but hidden feelings for your son. They need to be given a chance to work out what their future holds. Just for the record, Aaron did not invite him up. I gave Robert the cottage address and told him to go, as long as he promised not to mess Aaron around.”

“So what do you expect me to do?”

“Nothing! You need to sit back and see what happens. I think you need to talk to Aaron instead of ripping into him at every chance you get. You need to listen to how he is feeling and what he wants.”

Chas knew that Rhona was making sense in what she was saying but she still felt angry at how things had progressed.

“Ok, I see where you are coming from but I am not sure I will be able to accept Robert.”

“Chas, you are not seeing him, your son is.” Rhona pointed out. “Let the apron strings loosen just a little or you will drive him away. You have taken so long to build up a fantastic relationship with him and I have never seen anyone defend their son as much as you have at times, so why not support him this time?”

“But it’s Robert!” Chas replied.

“Yes, but let’s face it you chose to date Cameron and look how that one ended. I do not mean to throw this back in your face, I just hate to see a strong mother-son bond damaged beyond repair for no reason. I am going to spend some time with my friend Amy when we get there, so why don’t you talk with Aaron and dare I suggest… Robert.”

“Ok.” Chas conceded but she was not very comfortable with the idea…


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I would just like to say thank you for the reviews and to everyone that takes time to read this story. Many thanks again :)

"I'll make us some lunch." Robert announced as he headed into the kitchen after just getting back from the two successful business meetings. He had let Aaron do all the talking and he had won them over straightaway.

"You were impressive today!" He told Aaron as he came back through to the table with some sandwiches. "But then again, I have always been impressed with you."

Aaron smiled. "I wish we could stay a few more days. It has been fun!"

"Me too but we have to get back to reality at some point. When all the impending drama blows over we could maybe go away more often." He grinned.

"I like the sound of that. I have just had a text off Rhona asking if we were still at the cottage as she is heading up to see Amy. However something tells me there is more to it than that. She will be here in about 10 minutes."

Right on time, Rhona knocked on the door. "Hi." She announced as Aaron answered the door. "Come in."

"Actually I have brought someone up to see you." Rhona stood back to reveal an uneasy but smiling Chas. "Give her a chance. I give her quite a dressing down in the car about your relationship with Robert." She whispered.

Rhona headed off leaving a sheepish Chas standing at the door. "I didn't have a white flag. Can we just talk and I promise to listen?"

Aaron smiled. "Of course… come in."

Robert was sitting at the table, shocked to see Chas walking into the cottage. He immediately got up. "I will take Buffy out and leave you both to it."

Chas put her hand up. "Please don't Robert. I am not going to cause any trouble. I love my son too much for that and I don't want to lose him over this. Please stay!"

Aaron hugged Chas. "I love you too mum." He looked over at his boyfriend, signalling for him to stay.

"I will go and make a coffee. Do you want a sandwich?" He asked.

"Thanks! That would be lovely." Chas smiled back as Aaron showed her to the living room.

Robert hesitated on his return, wondering if it was safe to sit next to Aaron. It didn't take long for Aaron to pat the chair, signalling for him to sit down.

"So…" Chas shift in her chair not knowing what to say.

"Did Rhona tell you off a lot?" Aaron smiled trying to break the awkward silence.

"It was only what I deserved to hear. I am still uneasy about you and Robert being together but as it was pointed out to me, it is your choice and me having a go at you does seem a bit like pot kettle black if you see what I mean." Chas said over talking.

"So when did all of this start?" Chas asked.

Robert answered. "It was the 4th December to be exact but I had been attracted to Aaron for weeks. I faked a breakdown, Aaron came out to fix it and the rest is history."

"So why did you still marry Chrissie?" Chas asked outright.

"Because I did not know what else to do. The Whites have been a big part of my life for the last 8 years. It is hard to give up everything I have worked so hard for."

Chas needed to push this issue further. "You mean the money and power that the life brought?"

Aaron intervened. "Mum, stop it."

"No it's fine. I totally understand why your mum is asking. I worked my way up in the White family business through hard work and have made a large proportion of the money that the company has. The fact I fell for Chrissie was not part of my plan, it just happened, much like my relationship with Aaron."

"So how does Aaron fit into this?"

"We are working through that at the moment." Aaron added.

Chas was now getting on her high horse. "After the past few days I don't know what you see in Chrissie or how you view being part of the White family as a positive thing."

"I know they are approaching this Lachlan issue totally the wrong way and I am going to do something about it on my return to Home Farm."

"What can you do?" Chas asked.

"I can make sure the truth comes out. All I will say at this point is that this is a much more complex problem than anyone knows. Give me a week and things will be clearer. Just know I am not going to hurt Aaron. He means too much to me."

Aaron got up. "Rob, can I have a quick word with you?"

Robert got up and followed him through to the kitchen. "I am going to drive my mum back to Emmerdale as I think we need to talk further."

Robert agreed to stay back and return the keys to Rhona and explain the situation to her. Aaron loaded up the car with Buffy.

Chas looked over to see her son landing a passionate kiss.

"See you back in the village." He hugged Robert tightly before lightly brushing his lips against his.

"It's going to take a while to get used to that." Chas explained as they drove off. "When are we dropping Buffy off?"

"About that! I have told Rhona that I want to keep her. Could you talk to Diane about her moving in the pub? I'll take her to work during the day and she can sleep in my room."

"You have it all planned, don't you." Chas smiled. "I'll see what I can do. She is very cute mind you so Diane may have trouble refusing."

"She reminds me of Clyde. Thank you for giving Robert a chance. He is not all bad but you have to promise not to tell anyone except Paddy and Rhona. I think he will prove himself in the next few weeks."

"I am doing it for you. I can see glimpses of happiness when you are with him but it still hurts about Katie." Chas teared up at the mention of her name.

"It will hurt, mum. But we need to be there for each other. My problem has come back too. I have been hurting myself again." He admitted but felt relieved when he had as if a weight had lifted.

"Why, how? What can I do to help you?" Chas panicked remembering what her son went through last time.

"I have been running too much and my feet were all ripped up. Rhona stitched them up and I am not running now. I also started weekly therapy in York to learn how to control the urge to self-harm. I have only been for one session but I have noticed a difference already."

Chas looked across at him. "Aaron I don't say this enough but I am so proud of the way you have grown up and I know now that you have to make your own life choices. The only concern I have is that Robert will toss you aside when he gets over his gay phase."

"It isn't a phase. There were other men, not as serious and before you worry he assures me they were all before Chrissie."

"Ok, can we agree to give each other time to get used to the situation?" Chas asked.

"Yes, of course! I have no clue what the future holds so we just need to see how the situation plays out." Aaron put his hand on hers and smiled.

Rhona was surprised to see Robert arrive at Amy's house. "Hi Rhona. I am just dropping off the key for the cottage. The bottle of wine and flowers are on the table for her." He announced cheerily. "Thank you so much for giving me the address and arranging for us to stay. It has given us the time to re-evaluate our relationship and I am pretty sure we will be able to make a go of it."

After he left, Rhona stood there in complete shock. Was that really Robert Sugden? How could a person change so much in two days? She was looking forward to seeing if this transformation would last once they got back to everyday village life. One thing was for sure she could see major fireworks on the horizon


	12. Chapter 12

Robert looked at Dog giving him the blue eyes from his crate begging him to let him out.

"Sorry Dog, but you will be in there for a few weeks yet?" He often talked to the Dog when he was alone in the house. "For what's it is worth I know how you feel."

Ever since his return to Home Farm the evening before he had felt claustrophobic and trapped. He wished he could be back in the Lakes with Aaron in their cosy little cottage. Luckily Lawrence was out until very late so he did not have to make idle chitchat with his father in law.

He looked at his watch; he had an hour until Chrissie would be home and he was making the most of the last hour of freedom before she went to town on him demanding an apology. He would have to bite his tongue, take it on the chin and worst of all apologise for being honest. He knew he had no choice in this case, as he wanted to protect Alicia and in some ways Lachlan.

Chrissie's reaction before she fled the village had made him realise how much he was kept on the outside of the White family. Over the years, both Lawrence and Chrissie had made it clear that if he did not tow the family line he would be out on his ear. In some ways he had lost his identity as an individual and as a Sudgen. The latter was something he would not have placed much value on until his recent move back to his birthplace. The time spent with Diane, Vic and Andy had really brought home how much he had missed having a family – a real family.

It was dawning on him that he would soon be faced with two choices – stay with Chrissie and side with the Whites or back Alicia and blend back into the village. Even two months ago he would have chosen the first option without questions, but then something had blown his world off its axis – Aaron. He did not like to call it 'love' but he did have extremely strong feelings for the young mechanic.

He was just about to call Aaron but then the door opened and Chrissie swept in. He got up to grab the bags off her and Lachlan. "Be careful with that bag." She ordered. "It has some expensive Malt Whisky in for my father."

Robert felt her words grate on him. He had never really noticed how much she treated him like a child much like she did with Lachlan. No wonder he was not a straightforward child. He took the bag and placed it down gently on the kitchen counter.

"How was London?" he asked trying to act interested.

"It was just nice to be away from this place and the false accusations that were flying around." She replied, ruffling her son's hair. "Lachlan is starting a new school on Monday. It's a private one, he won't have to put up with the gossip and lies."

Robert was quite relieved at that news. "Is it an all-boys school?"

"No, it's a co-ed."

He needed to act quickly in case Lachlan latched on to his next victim and destroyed his life even more than it already was.

Lachlan gave his usual grimace and headed upstairs leaving Chrissie and Robert in the kitchen alone. "Do you want a coffee?"

"Yes that would be nice. So have you made your decision about your loyalties? I meant what I said." Chrissie fired at him.

Robert walked over to her and put his arms around her. "I am so sorry for the way I have acted. I know Lachlan would not be capable of such a thing. To be honest, since Andy moved in with Tracey I have enjoyed having the house back. I asked too much of you to take my brother in and I know now where I need to concentrate all my attention." He said thinking of Aaron when he made his last point.

Even though he had become a master manipulator over the years, even this was testing his abilities to their limits. He went further to leave Chrissie in no doubt at his allegiance to her and her family.

"Chrissie, I will help you and Lachlan to get through this." He was not lying as he was determined to get Lachlan the help he needed.

She smiled with satisfaction and kissed him. "I knew you would come around to my way of thinking." She tried to deepen the kiss, Robert knew he had to reciprocate.

"Think of the fun we can have later making up." She announced gleefully happy she had got her own way as usual.

He came up with a plan. He pulled away from her gently looking at her with a smile. I have to head off now. I have an appointment at the gym with my personal trainer. I should only be a few hours."

She nodded. "Well I must admit the gym is working you hard as you look so buff at the moment."

Robert took a deep breath of relief as he headed out of the door. The minute he was in the car he activated his mobile. "Hi Aaron. Can you get a few hours off the business? I need to talk to you. I will meet you at Bar West for some lunch."

Aaron was waiting near the bar as Robert approached him and was shocked when he leant over and gave him a hello kiss.

Aaron blushed. "I thought you said you would never come here again."

"Maybe I have changed my mind."  
"Do you want a coffee or a beer?" Aaron asked heading to the bar.

"An Americano would be great. I am supposed to be going to the gym so if I come back smelling of lager, there could be issues. So how is it going with your mum? Has she calmed down yet?"

"We have agreed a truce at the moment. It was nice to discuss everything on the way back."

"How did Diane take the idea of Buffy moving in?"

"She was fine about it on a trial basis on the understanding that I will take her back to the vets if need be."

"Is Chrissie back?"

"Yes she is and she has accepted my made up apology and still thinks that the sun still shines out of Lachlan. He can do no wrong according to her. Anyway she thinks her luck is in later, little does she know I will be pulling my back at the gym." He laughed. "You haven't hurt yourself since we got back, have you? When is your next therapy session?" He sounded concerned.

"It is on Monday – a group session this time. I have told mum but I don't want to tell her too much as she will want to come with me, then she will take over."

"So you can take someone with you can you?" Robert asked interested.

"Why do you want to come?" Aaron announced jokingly.

"Yes, I would come if you would let me; it may help me to understand why you do it and maybe then I can be more use in helping you beat it."

Aaron smiled. "That would be great! It's an 11am appointment if you can get away."

"I will get away, don't you worry?"

"So what is the plan with Alicia and Lachlan?"

"I don't think I can plan this one. I just need to convince Lachlan that he needs to admit the truth about what happened. I hope it won't take too long as I am struggling to keep up the pretence. God knows what will happen when I blow this wide open."

"Well, let me know what I can do to help."

"Meet me at the pub with Adam later under the pretence of having a meeting. I want to see you but I think we will be pushing it to get time alone. It may also help Chas get used to the idea of us as I really hope we can give this a go if that is what you want."

Aaron's face lit up. "Of course that is what I want. I will try not to give us away at the pub…strictly business, I promise you."

They chatted over a few more cups of coffee. Aaron told him about his time in France with Ed whilst Robert told him about his childhood in the village.

"I have to get back to Home Farm and start putting on my bad back." Robert explained. "I will see you and Adam in the pub at 7pm."

"I haven't seen him yet. I was supposed to meeting up with him last night but Vic took him clubbing to celebrate the end of his curfew. He was too hung over for work this morning."

They headed out to the car park together and Robert kissed Aaron passionately before leaving in his car.

What they didn't notice was Emma Barton getting out of her car nearby. She had seen everything….


	13. Chapter 13

Robert was acting guilty. "I am so sorry about this. I should have known that it was overdoing it when I tried to lift that weight. It should only be bad for a few days and then I will make it up to you." He hugged Chrissie.

"It's alright. Maybe we could watch a movie with Lucky later." She suggested.

His face twisted. "I can't. I promised I would meet Adam and Aaron at the Woolpack to discuss business. It should only take an hour or so."

"Do you have to go? I have not seen you in ages and feel we have not spent any quality time together since we married. We have finally got rid of Andy so we won't have that distraction."

He tried to rein his anger in. "It is not Andy's fault that Katie died and you would be there for Rebecca if something happened."

"I am starting to wonder if you going into business with those two is such a good idea. I am thinking that if the village do not come around to our way of thinking, it may be worthwhile withdrawing funding from the scrapyard."

"Chrissie, that is my private money and I will not drop them in it. If we pull the funding out, it will make us look even worse."

"I do not care what the people in the village think of us. A lot of this anger is down to jealousy of our power and money."

"This is not the dark ages where people in the manor house wielded power. Some of the people in Emmerdale are quite well off." Robert fired back.

"Why do I sense that I don't have complete loyalty from you?" Chrissie replied.

"I am not a dog so please don't treat me like one. I am entitled to my own opinions. My family live in the village and I am not going to avoid them."

Chrissie started to run her finger down his chest. "Well you may not need to worry about them for much longer. I think we should concentrate on our own family. I want to try for a baby."

"A baby." He almost choked on his coffee. "Where did this come from? I didn't know we had definitely decided to have children."

"I think with all this Lucky stuff he would be good with a baby brother or sister. Anyway I am not getting any younger and my clock is seriously ticking. We are married now so what's stopping us?"

Robert panicked but knew he needed to get back into line, but he did not want to give her false hope. "Can we talk about it over the next few weeks? It is not a decision that should be taken lightly."

"Ok, but let's not wait too long. So promise you will be back by 9pm. Maybe a massage would help your back." She suggested flirting.

"I will be." He kissed her on her cheek then headed off on the walk to the village.

Adam was waiting for him when he got to the pub. "What happened to the beard?" Robert asked as he noticed it was gone. He had not had much to do Adam as he usually only discussed things with Aaron. He knew he would have to behave himself with no open flirting and he noticed that Chas had her usual prime viewpoint at the bar so she could watch over events.

"I fancied a change and your sister complains about stubble rash." Adam explained.

Robert laughed to himself that he could sympathise with him about that issue. He headed over the bar to get some pints in.

"Hi." He announced cheerily to Chas trying to gauge her mood.

"Hi, how are you?" She replied in her friendly but somewhat uncertain tone.

"I'm fine. Where's Aaron?"

"He is in the back preening himself, no doubt for you." She rolled her eyes but on the surface she did not seem too annoyed. "He won't be long."

Suddenly Aaron appeared from the back. "Hi." He said coyly, pleased to see Robert again, but then he noticed the full pub and reined himself in.

They all sat down. Aaron sat closer to Adam so not to make it suspicious.

"Robert, I just want to thank you for helping Aaron make it happen over the past few days. I think we are going to have a big success on our hands." Adam announced.

Robert smiled. "Don't thank me. Aaron surprised me, managing to swing most of the deals himself. I know you two are grafters. I will just go back to being the silent partner with the cash."

"Sounds like a plan." Aaron added. "You can keep your nose out of how we do things." He was trying to keep his attitude towards his boyfriend as consistent as possible.

"Ok, I get the mesasage - you two are the bosses."

Victoria came over to join them. "Miss me babe!" She grabbed Adam's face and kissed them. "Rob, how did these two convince you to come out for a pint? No doubt you are buying."

"Yes, I am." Robert smiled. "Do you want something to drink?"

"You're buying, yes definitely. I will have a glass of white wine." Vic smiled.

"I will get a round in." He smiled. "Give me a hand, Aaron."

Aaron got up reluctantly. "Why don't you two get a room?"

At the bar, Chas was serving. "So what can I get you?"

"Three pints and a large white wine please."

"No problem. If you want to talk, don't let me stop you." She was making an effort.

"So how are things going at Home Farm?" Aaron said quietly so no-one would overhear.

"Not good. She has been ordering me around like a child and has now announced that she wants to try for a baby."

"You're not going to, are you?" Aaron asked with a jealous look on his face.

"No way! Can we maybe meet up tomorrow at 1pm in the barn? I am missing you and also we cannot talk openly here."

Aaron nodded.

Chas was listening in. "Forget that idea. A barn? Come here at 1pm as it is just me on the afternoon shift. You can have the back room to yourselves as Doug is introducing Diane to some friends at a Sunday lunch."

Robert nodded and headed back to the table with the drinks.

Aaron smiled. "Thanks mum! Can you keep next Sunday free? I am going to take you out for lunch for Mother's Day. I really appreciate that you are giving him a chance. He's not all bad although he does have his moments."

"All of care about is your happiness and if that means you are going to be with Robert then I will have to get used to it. I would have felt sorry for Chrissie if this had been a few weeks ago, but I can't have sympathy now with the way she has handled this Alicia assault." Chas explained.

"I will get back to them. Maybe we could have a drink later when you close up." Aaron smiled.

Chas might not have liked the idea of this pairing but even she could see that her son's mood had improved drastically over the past few days.

On his way back to the table, Aaron noticed David out of the corner of his eye sitting by himself. He walked over to the table. "How are you?"

"Fine and dandy! Why wouldn't I be?" David snapped back. "I will be once Lachlan and the rest of his clan leave the dales. I am just glad he is away at the moment. I don't think Alicia could deal with him being in the village."

"He's back." Aaron replied, thinking he had a right to know.

David grabbed his coat and left the bar. Aaron slipped out after him. "David, come back?"

He ran home with Aaron following behind. Aaron could not believe what he was seeing when they found Lachlan hiding in the bushes outside their house.

"I am going to kill you." David shouted at him with venom. "You are going to wish you never set foot in this village."

Lachlan ran away. David had a wild look in his eyes. "He will pay."

"David, don't do something you will regret. Where is Alicia?"

"She is spending the night with Leyla as it is their weekly movie night and she wants things to get back to normal."

Aaron was really worried about his state of mind. He knew David was planning something but what?

He left David at home and headed back to the Woolpack but was intercepted by Robert. "What's up? I noticed you leaving the pub in a hurry."

"I think David is going to do something to Lachlan. We have just caught him in the bushes stalking the house."

"What do you think he has planned?" Robert asked in concern.

"I don't know."

But they didn't have to wait long before David appeared with a bag and got into his car. Robert panicked and nodded for Aaron to follow him.

Robert climbed into the passenger seat of David's car before he had a chance to pull away. "Can we talk?" Aaron got in the back…


	14. Chapter 14

"David, don't do whatever you are planning. Taking Lachlan and threatening him is not the answer." Robert explained as David started up the car.

"Get out of my car. Don't pretend you know how I feel. Your family will just use their money to buy Lachlan out of trouble. Lawrence has already tried it with Alicia. There is no other way out of this." There was such evident anger in his voice.

"David, you will end up in prison and how will that be helping Alicia come to terms with what Lachlan did to her."

The last part of Robert's comment made David turn off the engine. "So you think he did it?"

Robert decided to take the plunge and end his allegiance to the White Family. So much had changed in his life in the past few days making him question what was important in his life. His time with Aaron was the first time he had felt settled, well even since his childhood. Most of his life had been a turmoil of affairs and tragic deaths and now then out of nowhere this one constant had appeared in his life – Aaron.

"I know he did it. He has done it before. Last year he stalked a girl in his class to the point where she feared for safety. Luckily for him, his family were easily bought with a generous payment and a promise to leave the area. That is most of the reason we moved here."

David looked at him more in shock now than his earlier anger. "Why would you tell me this? I can use this against your family."

"I do not want Lachlan thinking he has the green light to do this again. He is starting a new school on Monday and I have no doubt the cycle of stalking will perpetuate further. He needs to be stopped and he needs help. Even though I do not believe he is beyond redemption he does need to be punished for his actions. At the moment Chrissie and Lawrence are cocooning him so no one can touch him. There have been so many times when I have been shut out of the family because I did not toe the line. Just the other day she threatened to throw me out of Home Farm because I questioned their handling of Lachlan."

"Don't tell me you are willing to throw away your life with the White's." David pushed him for clarification.

"I cannot throw away what I no longer care about." He blurted out exactly what he was thinking leaving a listening Aaron in shock. "I am planning to leave anyway. I do not like what I have become since entangling myself with the White Family."

Aaron interrupted. "You cannot mean you are willing to give up all that."

"I decided on the drive home. There is somewhere else I want to be, someone else I want to be with."

David had calmed down a little. "You have been seeing another woman. Is that why you are willing to get involved?"

"Not quite, it's a little more complicated than that. Just go back in the house and I promise if I cannot get Lachlan to confess tomorrow, I will bring you enough evidence to go back to the police and have charges pressed. Give me until 6pm tomorrow." Robert explained.

David got out of the car. "I don't know what to say."

"Say nothing until I deliver the goods."

Aaron could see doubt creeping across David's face and stepped in. "David, I will make sure he carries through on his end of the bargain."

The smile that Robert gave Aaron at that comment left David in no doubt as to what was happening.

"I would ask but it might be safer not to." David smiled knowingly as he walked towards the house turning back to see his suspicions confirmed by an exchange occurring between the two men.

Once David was gone. "He saw us you know." Aaron announced

"I don't care anymore. I am sure that he will keep his mouth shut. You could have a quiet word with him later just to make sure he won't spill."

"Why did you lie?"

Robert looked surprised. "I didn't."

"You did." Aaron fired back. "You told him that you were finished with the White's."

He looked Aaron in the eyes. "I can promise you now that I will not be going back to Chrissie. I want to be with you and for the first time in my life, I am certain that someone is enough for me. When I am with you, I don't want to look around to see who else might be attainable."

Aaron kissed him. "I don't know what to say."

Robert placed his hands over his lips. "Don't say anything. Let's talk about it after we have this Lachlan problem sorted."

He hugged Aaron. "I will pop over to the Woolpack about 1pm."

"I will sort us some lunch." Aaron replied.

Robert reluctantly headed home to face the increasingly annoying situation at Home Farm. It was ten by the time he got home.

"Where have you been?" She asked. "I have been waiting for you. You promised to be back an hour ago."

"Sorry, it has taken me a while to get home from the pub. My back is still really bad. I think I will need to go to bed."

"Well, that was my plan anyway." She got up seductively and headed over to him. She started to play with his hair.

Robert took her hand. "Chrissie, I am sorry but not tonight. I am going to sleep in the spare room as I need to be able to find a comfortable position for my back. I will make it up to you when my back is better."

Chrissie was not happy. "How are we expected to have a baby if we sleep in separate rooms?"

"Why this sudden need to have a baby. I honestly think this is some weird kneejerk reaction to the Lachlan situation. It won't change anything." Robert was starting to regret those beers as they had made him argumentative and he knew he needed to rein himself in.

"Robert, I am not going to argue with you over this when it is obvious that you are in an annoying mood. You have had quite a bit to drink by the looks of it. I have been talking to dad this evening and we are wondering if we should move to another county."

He could not miss an opportunity like this one so he changed tact. "So we are going to move every time we get a whiff of a problem with Lachlan. You know as well as I do that he is not guilty in this case so why run again. You are a White, surely you are going to stand your ground on this one." He was using reverse psychology to get Chrissie back on side and hopefully help him to achieve his aim to get Lachlan to admit to his assault.

Chrissie's mood softened. "You know you are right and that is why I love you. Look you go and rest that back and we will discuss a baby in the next few days. I am definitely starting to think it would be a good plan. Do you not want to carry on the Sugden family?"

"Good idea. Let's discuss it when I am not in pain and under the influence." He hugged her, but it was more like a family friendly hug rather than anything else.

He headed up to bed and wished Aaron was with him. He fell asleep thinking about their time away in the cottage.

Lachlan was up and about earlier than normal. Robert started to put his plan into action.

"Lachie, my back is a bit better and I was going to go out for a walk. Do you want to come? With all that is going on, it may be good to have a chat."

Chrissie walked in. "Lucky, that sounds like a plan. I will make a full English for an hours' time. You have been stuck in the house too much."

Robert smiled as he headed off with a very reluctant Lachlan.

"Why have you brought me out?" Lachlan asked in his usual morose tone.

"I was just wondering if there is anything I can do to help you. Your mum is doing everything she can but I just thought I may be able to help you deal with it. I know I am not your dad but I like to think I am your friend." Robert added.

"No, I'm good but I will be even better when Alicia admits to what she did to me."

"I know it must be difficult. Problem is that most of the villagers will see her as the innocent party. It was wrong of her to come onto you. I shouldn't tell you this but it happened to me when I was 16. Nicola came onto me and then dumped me the next day. It is hard to take that kind of rejection."

"You had Nicola. That's unlucky. At least Alicia is hot and even you must be jealous that I got that up close and personal with her." Lachlan announced with one of those creepy half grins he did.

Robert was taken back by the way he had made that last comment. All those adult movies had really warped his sense of reality. Getting him to admit to the crime was going to be an uphill struggle. He decided that he might have to move to Plan B, not that he knew what that was as yet.


	15. Chapter 15

Suddenly out of nowhere, a familiar German Shepherd came lolloping along the road. Lachlan panicked. “What the hell!” he shouted, waving his arms.

The dog jumped up excitedly at Robert. “Buffy, get off.” The dog started to lick his face. 

“Buffy, get back here!” Aaron shouted as he came around the corner and saw Robert being bothered by her.

Lachlan flipped as Aaron approached. “That dog should be on a lead. It could have attacked me.”

“Well she didn’t so there is no need to worry. No harm done.” Aaron replied.

“I don’t think the police will see it that way when I report it. They take dog attacks very seriously.” Lachlan fired back angrily. 

“Why would you report her? She is soft as anything.” Aaron remained calm. He started to fuss her.

“It would seem that way.” Robert added, shocked that Buffy had become so attached to him in such a short space of time. He just hoped that she had not given the game away.

Lachlan grabbed his phone and wandered off to the other side of the road to make a call. “I am going to call the police.”

Robert hunched down to stroke Buffy. “Aaron, I will cover for Buffy but could you try and rile up Lachlan now as I may get a reaction.” He whispered. Aaron nodded.

Aaron walked over. “Grow up! How old are you? She was just been friendly. I have seen your dog off the lead when he is with you and would not say you have him under control.”

Robert came over with a determined look on his face. “Please don’t speak to Lachlan like that. He was just frightened that the dog would go for him.”

“I just think he is overreacting.” Aaron replied pretending to lose patience with Robert. 

“Just keep your dog on the lead in future.” Robert ordered. 

“Well I suggest Lachlan does the same.” The exchange continued. 

“I am calling the police.” Lachlan replied.

“Don’t you have enough on his plate at the moment? I thought you would have seen enough of the police recently.” Aaron replied sarcastically.

Lachlan walked up to him and put his face right up to Aaron’s. “What the hell does that mean?”

Aaron put on a stutter. “I was just thinking with the assault charges hanging over your head that you would not want to involve the police.”

Lachlan was become angrier by the second. He gritted his teeth, looked at Aaron and fired back. “You can talk. Rumour has it you murdered your boyfriend.” 

Robert was not liking where this was going and was instantly regretting this plan of action. 

“I am not going to dignify that with an answer.” Aaron replied, leaving Robert shocked at how his boyfriend was managing to hold back his anger.

“Ok, this is going nowhere.” Robert intervened placing his hand on Lachlan’s chest to stop him fronting up to Aaron too much. “I think we should leave there. After all, no harm has been done.”

“I’m going home.” Lachlan was fuming and stormed off home. 

Robert was left in standing in the road with Aaron. “Well that backfired major time.” He commented.

Aaron just smiled at him. “You tried!” 

“How did you manage to hold back?” 

“He is just a kid. I was once like him apart from the assault part. I was so full of myself and would have stood up to anyone. I take it the plan is not going very well.”

“I need to go on to Plan B. I am either going to have to raid his laptop or just pass the information onto David. The thing I am worried about is how Lawrence will react to such a betrayal. Getting Lachlan to admit it is the best way forward but he is very clued up and never opens up about anything.”

“Look if you need longer to sort this out, I can wait…for lunch I mean.” Aaron explained.

“No, I’ll be there. I am looking forward to having a normal Sunday lunch. I am sick of the posh food I usually get. You can only have pheasant or rabbit every so often.” 

“Bye buffy.” He stroked the dog. “See you in about 5 hours not that I am counting. Are you sure your mum is ok about us being in the back room.”

“See you.” Aaron smiled.

Lachlan was bending his mum’s ear when Robert got back to Home Farm. 

“Robert, thank you for sticking up for Lachlan. I cannot believe Aaron had a go at him, considering it was his dog that attacked Lucky.” Chrissie was fussing over her son like she always did. Lachlan then retreated to his bedroom as he did 90% of the time.

“The dog didn’t attack him but it did almost lick me to death. She is a lovely dog. She has moved into the pub and I don’t think Diane would let that happen if she was aggressive in any way. I have told Aaron to keep him on a lead next time.”

“I am thinking about calling the police. What if a young child gets hurt next time?”

Robert felt like banging his head off a wall. Did his wife listen to anything he had to say? “No there is no point. Do you want to inflame the situation anymore? We are already having trouble with people from the village so why cause more bother.”

Chrissie looked mad. “We are not the ones causing the bother. Lucky is innocent so the villagers are the one with the problem, not us.”

“I suppose so. Anyway you need to stop stressing over this.” Robert said as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He gave it to Chrissie. “I think you need some down time so I have booked a spa afternoon for you at Griffindean Hotel. You can take a friend with you. Wasn’t Keely asking about meeting up? Take her.”

Her face lit up. “Thank you! That’s sounds like fun but what about Lucky.”

 

“Your dad is taking him out for lunch in Hotten. I am going to head to the pub to see if Andy is about.”

“You have everything covered, don’t you?” 

“Yes, I do.” Robert gave a false smile. 

Robert decided he would come back early from lunch if Aaron did not mind as Lawrence had told Lachlan he was also going to take him to the cinema. No one would be back until 6pm so that would give him enough time to try and work out what he should do. He texted David and told him that it would be 8pm before he would be able to give him an update.

Robert arrived at the back door of the pub where Aaron let him in. “Hi.” He said sheepishly sounding as if it was his first date. The fact Chas was around made him nervous. Hopefully she would not be watching them like a hawk as usual.

“Do you want a pint?” Aaron asked, offering to go to the bar to get one.

“Yeah that would be great.” Robert paced up and down.

“Rob, this is your stepmum’s pub and you normally make yourself at home, so what’s changed. Pretend we are back at the cottage.” Aaron suggested.

“I am just not used to this. I wish we were back there. This Lachlan thing is starting to bug me.” Robert replied.

“I have an idea about that. I will just go and grab lunch and drinks for us.” 

Aaron appeared a few minutes later with two plates of Sunday lunch. He placed them down. Then the door opened to reveal Chas with two pints. 

“Hello.” Robert announced politely. 

“Hi.” Chas said cautiously before turning to Aaron. “I will try and make sure no one comes back here but I cannot guarantee someone won’t. James is milling around sometimes on a Sunday if he finishes up early at the farm.” 

Aaron laughed to Robert after his mum had left the room. “Do you think she has arranged for James to come back early so we do not get up to anything? It is like bringing your first girlfriend or boyfriend home and having to leave the bedroom door open.”

He smiled as he took a seat across the table from Aaron. “So what was your idea?”

“Are the computers at Home Farm linked into a network? Even Lachlan’s?”

“Yes, they are but I am sure he will know how to deactivate the link.”

“I am sure there will be a back door way in. I was thinking of asking Kirin for advice. Adam says he is a whiz with computers so he may have some ideas.”

“That could be worth a go! Can you text him and ask him to meet us at Home Farm at 4pm? There will be no one in.” Robert explained.

Aaron texted and a reply came back almost immediately. “I think the offer of a cash incentive worked a treat. He will meet us there. I told him to keep it quiet.”

They started to chat about their time at the cottage as they had their lunch when suddenly the door opened.

“Hi James.” Aaron announced trying not to look too disappointed.

“Hey what’s going on here?” James asked as he headed into the kitchen area to make a coffee.

“We are just having a business lunch whilst it is quiet.” Robert said.

“So where’s Adam?” James asked outright. “Surely he should be here.” 

Aaron nodded. “I was just about to text him. It was a kind of a spur of the moment thing and I haven’t had a chance to contact him as yet.”

Robert shot a look at Aaron as James was turned away. He took out his phone and texted Adam….


	16. Chapter 16

As soon as James left, Aaron looked at Robert. "I am sorry but I didn't know how to get us out of that one. James can be annoying sometimes. It is like since he has found out Adam is his son that he needs to overcompensate and make sure he is the centre of everything."

Robert reached over and put his hand on Aaron's knee. "Don't worry it is not your fault. Tell me if you think I am mad but I think the only way to stop this from happening constantly is to have Adam in on our secret. Otherwise he is going to feel pushed out and think we are running the business without him."

Aaron was shocked. "I have been thinking about that lately and I know Adam is not the best when it comes to sussing out secrets, but he would guess eventually. I want to be able to spend time with you alone without worrying about Adam coming along and playing gooseberry. He is one of my best friends but I don't want him coming between us."

"The only problem is that he will tell Vic." Aaron added but then was surprised at the reply.

"Would that be such a bad thing? I feel that I have got quite close to Vic since I came back to the village and you are best friends with her, so where would the harm be." Robert explained.

"Ok, you have a deal but let's see if he guesses whilst he is here. This should be fun." Aaron leant over and kissed him before tucking back into his lunch.

Adam just burst in and started to moan. "Aaron what are you doing texting me at this time? I had the chance of an afternoon at Vic's. Robert, what are you doing here? I get it! Why are you having a business meeting on an afternoon?"

"I'll go and snatch a pint for you, Adam." Aaron got up leaving his puzzled friend with Robert.

"I wanted to thank you for helping Aaron swing those deals in Cumbria. Maybe you should not be a silent partner. You definitely have the gift of the gab from what Aaron tells me." Adam said.

"We'll see. You are both doing so well with my investment on your own and I just like to keep a look in every so often but apart from that, I am happy to leave it up to you."

Aaron returned with a pint and took a seat. "I am just going to finish up my dinner."

Robert sat back in his chair and smiled at his boyfriend. "So I hope you are looking after Vic. You know I will come and hunt you down if I find out you have been hurting her."

"I promise I am." Adam replied feeling nervous at the threat.

Robert seized this opportunity. "Adam, do I make you nervous?"

"No… well maybe sometimes. If I am honest I don't know how to take you sometimes. You can be very sarcastic and cutting. Vic said that is just your tough exterior. That's maybe why I let Aaron deal with you and I stay out of the way. He seems to know how to handle you."

Robert smirked at Aaron. "He most certainly does."

Adam picked up on that. "I am not sure why Aaron gets away with being so bolshie with you. He seems to be able to tell you what he thinks and your responses don't bother him."

Aaron smiled. "Rob doesn't frighten me. You just have to know how to handle him."

Robert's eyes glinted at that comment, something that did not go unnoticed by Adam.

"I just need to pop out for a few minutes." Robert got up and wandered out.

The moment he left the room, Adam looked at Aaron in disbelief. "Bro, you really need to stop that flirting with Robert. I can see the sparks directed at him and believe me it is not going to end well. From past experience, it can be very awkward for a gay person to come onto you when you are straight."

"I guess you are talking about me trying to kiss you. I am so sorry for that." Aaron had him right where he wanted. "Anyway this is different. He was flirting back. Did you not notice?"

"No way my friend. Robert is not that way inclined. He is straighter than most people I know. He could pull out of the business if you push him too far."

Robert came back in the room. Aaron looked at him. "Rob, Adam thinks I am flirting with you."

Adam shot Aaron a look as he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Aaron, stop it."

"I must say I had noticed." Robert fired back. "Ok, I admit it can be a little OTT sometimes."

"I told him it was fine as you kept flirting back." Aaron announced playfully watching the worried look on Adam's face.

"I am that obvious. I will have to be careful in the future. Wouldn't want people to notice."

"I can't do this anymore." Aaron replied. "Robert and I are seeing each other. In fact we have been having an affair since December."

Adam just sat there with his mouth gaping open. "Yeah right."

"Yes, we are." He took his seat next to Aaron.

Adam stuttered. "What about your marriage to Chrissie. Is that a sham?"

"Well it wasn't but it is fast turning into one." Robert replied honestly. "By the way, thank you for dropping us in it with Chas. She found out we were at the cottage together and stormed up."

"I am really sorry mate. I didn't know." Adam was very apologetic.

Robert patted him on the shoulder. "Adam, calm down. I was only kidding. How were you to know what was really going on? Is there any chance you could stop stressing? I would really like if we could try and be friends. Aaron tells me so many good things about you."

"Yeah mate… sounds good." He announced in shock.

"We know you will tell Vic but could we be there when you do in case she has any questions. I think she will be more shocked than you." Aaron offered.

"Maybe we could go to Bar West tomorrow night as she said she had the night off." Robert suggested. "I will probably be homeless by then after Chrissie chucks me out."

"What's happening?" Adam asked curiously.

"I'll fill you in tomorrow, but the proverbial will hit the fan later today." Aaron explained.

Robert looked at his watch. "I am sorry to kick you out but we need to head up to Home Farm. We are meeting someone."

For some reason, Adam hugged them both before leaving.

Kirin was waiting outside Home Farm when Aaron and Robert got back. He had a small duffle bag.

"Hi guys." Kirin smiled. "So are you going to tell me what you need me for? The text was very cryptic."

"Come in and we'll have a coffee and discuss it." Robert suggested.

Aaron sat at the breakfast bar and directed Kirin to do the same whilst Robert made coffee.

"I thought you would be able to help Robert out, so I texted you." Aaron explained.

"What's the problem?" He asked.

Robert started to talk. "We need to access Lachlan's computer. It is tied into the Home Farm Business Network but he will have set up security like Fort Knox. Is there anyway you can get us in?"

"I am not sure I should be helping you hack into someone's computer." Kirin was cautious.

"I am a company director and I would say that gives me the right to access any computer on the network."

Kirin grabbed his laptop out of his bag and was soon logged into the network. "It might help if you can give me an idea what we are looking for."

"Proof that he assaulted Alicia." Robert added.

Kirin looked nervous. "Oh I see. Of course I can access his stuff. It will take about 20 mins or so."

"Great." Robert replied.

As promised, Kirin got in with no bother and brought up Lachlan's home page. Although Lachlan had secured access to his computer, the same could not be said of his documents. There were hundreds of photos of Alicia including some taken from outside her house. None of them were posed so they had obviously been taken covertly."

"He is a right stalker." Kirin announced. "There is enough evidence to bring him down and more, but these are the clinchers." He pressed the mouse to bring up some photos of Alicia flat out on the sofa, some of which were taken from some very suggestive angles.

"Can you print these out?" Robert asked.

"Yes of course."

Kirin printed two copies of each one and handed them to Robert. "Thank you so much." He handed over £100 to Kirin.

"I don't feel I should accept this as I would be rewarded to see Lachlan be punished for his assault on Alicia."

"No take it." Robert smiled. "But please don't tell anyone about this. All of the information will be handed to the relevant authorities."

Kirin left leaving Aaron and Robert mulling over the best course of action. "How are you going to deal with this?"

"Can you leave in about 10 minutes and take a copy of each one? If I text you, can you hand them over to David. I would rather give Lachlan the chance to admit to it. Also, I may have to bunk over at yours tonight if you don't mind. I will be kicked out as soon as I present my evidence."

Aaron smiled. "Of course you can. Just text me and I will sneak you in the side door."

Robert walked over to him and kissed him. "Thank you! It means a lot."

Aaron then left Robert to make what would be a life changing move…..


	17. Chapter 17

Robert waited for Chrissie to come back. Luckily she would be back a while before Lachlan and Lawrence.

He was going to have a glass of whisky but decided to stay sober for this.

"Hi Robert." She gave him a smile as she came in the door.

"Hi." He said quietly. "Chrissie, do you want a coffee?" She nodded so he made her one and then asked her to join her in the lounge.

"Why are we in the lounge? We have the place to ourselves for another hour or so and I think we should start trying for a new addition."

Robert looked at her. "There is something we need to talk about first – Lachlan."

"Oh no, what is it now? Don't tell me that your family have been bending your ear about him. Did they have their pitchforks at the ready?" She announced in a snobby tone.

"No one had to bend my ear, Chrissie. It is so obvious he is guilty of this assault. You saw some of his photos on the laptop of Alicia. There is no way Alicia would show any interest in him. David and she are one of the happiest couples I have ever met."

Her mouth just gaped open. "How dare you turn against this family? You owe us your loyalty after all we have done for you."

He felt his anger rise. "I am loyal to this family but not when an innocent girl is assaulted and she is made to feel as if she is in some way to blame."

"She is to blame. She came onto him."

Robert walked through to the kitchen counter and grabbed the new photos. "So this is coming on to Lachlan." He spread all of the pictures across the table and asked Chrissie to look. "Look at them. There are some very suggestive and sexually motivated photos and it doesn't look as though Alicia is consenting to them being taken. She is asleep in most of them."

She did not even look, she hastily gathered them into a messy pile and walked through to the sitting room and chucked them onto the fire. She then turned her anger onto her husband. "Right, give me your house and car keys."

He had never heard so much venom in her voice. "You are not welcome back into this house until you apologise. If I catch you continuing this misguided vendetta against my son, there will be further consequences. I will not be responsible for what you will unleash if you make the wrong decision."

Robert just glared at her. "I cannot believe you are willing to overlook the fact your son is a pervert. He will do it again. He needs help urgently and all you are doing is validating his behaviour. I will not fall in to line on this matter. I am not going to be talked to like a child. I will leave but please understand this will not be the end."

"You are right about that." She waited for him to leave and slammed the door in his face.

Robert felt himself shake from the exchange. He had never seen so much fury from his wife and for him it had totally cleared his mind about what he wanted in his life.

He texted Aaron to ask him to open the side door of the pub. "Hi, how did it go?"

"Not well!" He announced. "We need to go and see David now. She would not even look at the photos. They ended up on the fire. I have been banished from Home Farm but to be honest it could be the best outcome."

Aaron grabbed the photos and they headed off to see David. They knocked on the door and Alicia answered.

"Hi Alicia, is David around?" Aaron asked but then noticed her nervousness when she saw Robert.

"What do you need to see him about?" She asked.

David arrived at the door. "Can you give me a few minutes and I will be out?"

Alicia stopped David. "No, they can come in. I can see that this is something I need to know about and I am sick of people walking on eggshells. Come in!"

Aaron and Robert walked in the house.

"Is there any chance that Jacob will overhear?"

"No he is at his friend's house." Alicia said. "Can you just tell me what is going on? Is this about Chrissie wanting to take out private legal action against us? Why else would Robert be here?"

Robert sat down. "Alicia, I am on your side. I know Lachlan is 100% guilty and I have tried to get Chrissie to accept it, but she won't. I have some photos that should make the police reopen the case. He has done this before to another girl and I am not willing to let him get away with it again."

Alicia was puzzled. "Why would you do this? It could affect your relationship with Chrissie."

"It already has. She has just kicked me out." Robert was about to continue but Alicia interrupted.

"I am so sorry. You can't throw your marriage away for me. Take the photos back and make up with her. This assault has caused enough heartache and I am not willing to be responsible for any more."

Robert looked at her. "Alicia, you are not responsible for any of this. Lachlan is a confused teenager who has no idea of where boundaries should lie. He needs to be punished and offered therapy or the same thing will happen again. Chrissie and I are over anyway and I shouldn't have married her."

Alicia noticed David looking knowingly at Aaron. "Am I missing something?" she asked.

David nodded. "I think the reason for your marriage break up is sitting in this room. Am I right? I saw you kissing before."

Robert smiled. "Yes, we are seeing each other. But can you not tell anyone as we could do without this getting out just yet as Lawrence does not take prisoners when members of his family betray him."

Alicia nodded and went over hugging him. "Thank you, Robert! This means a lot. You have surprised me. Maybe I misjudged you."

Robert and Aaron left and headed to the pub. They were going to sneak in the side door up to Aaron's room but decided it would be better to be open with Diane about what was going on.

They found Chas at the bar. "Mum, where is Diane?"

Chas looked at Robert. "She is in the back room watching TV. Why what's happened?"

"Robert has just dumped Lachlan in it and he has been kicked out. Is it alright with you if he stays here? We were just going to ask Diane but obviously we will not be letting her know about us. He can stay in my room."

Chas looked at Aaron. "It's quite convenient that there are no spare rooms. Robert, just tell Diane I suggested that you could bunk up with Aaron. Aaron, sit down and have a drink with me. You can tell me all about it while Robert goes to break the bad news."

Robert nodded and headed through the back. He knocked gently on the door and pushed the door gently. "Am I disturbing?" he said quietly.

Diane smiled. "No pet, come in. What are you doing here?"

"I need to ask a favour. Chrissie and I have spilt up. She had kicked me out of the house and basically I need a place to stay while I work out something more permanent."

She stared at him disbelief. "Robert, you have only been married for 6 weeks. What has happened?"

"I did not agree with the way the family was handling the Lachlan affair so I said so."

"Is that it? You should be able to work through it." She replied.

"I don't think so. There is a lot more stuff which will be made public in the next few days but I don't want to say anything more about it at the minute. Chas said I would have to share with Aaron."

"Yes, I think that is the only option. There is a camp bed in the cupboard if you are ok with that. I am not sure how Aaron will react though."

"I am sure he can cope for a few nights." Robert smiled.

"Look why don't you get settled in upstairs and we can talk about this in the morning when the dust has settled a bit." She smiled at him.

Robert headed back to the bar. "She is ok with it." He smiled. "Now, Aaron can you help me sort out this camp bed?"

He looked at Robert, rolling his eyes. "If I must! Mum, we may not be back down tonight so we will see you in the morning." He announced to Chas.

Chas smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Keep the noise down!"

Little did they realise that Emma was watching all the events from a nearby table. This could be a chance for her to get revenge on Chas for stealing James. She started to plot…


	18. Chapter 18

Aaron carried the camp bed into his room and placed it in the corner. "You do realise you have zero chance of sleeping in my bed, don't you?"

"Yeah right. I bet you won't take much convincing."

Aaron looked at him. "It is not me you will have to convince. It's Buffy. She likes to take up most of the bed and she is very possessive of it."

"Where is she?" Robert asked.

"She is downstairs with Diane. I think your stepmum has taken a bit of a shine to her and the feeling seems returned. I will go down and get her otherwise she will be scratching on the door later to be in."

Aaron went downstairs and noticed the door ajar. He pushed it. "I was just here to get Buffy and make some coffee if that is ok." He walked over and switched the kettle on. "Do you want one?"

Diane smiled at him. "No thanks, pet. I am really sorry about the Robert situation. He won't be staying too long hopefully. He will see sense and go back to Chrissie soon enough. He has been so happy lately and it would be a shame for him to give all that up."

Aaron just nodded.

"I never thought I would see Robert settle but he has surprised me. Chrissie has been the making of him."

For some reason, those comments were feeding his insecurities. He grabbed the two cups and headed upstairs with a reluctant Buffy following behind.

"Buffy, up…" Robert commanded her onto the camp-bed but he could clearly see her eyeing up Aaron's double.

Aaron was distracted. It wasn't long before Robert noticed. "Hey what's up?" He asked in his caring voice.

"It is just something Diane said about Chrissie being the best thing that has ever happened to you and how you have seemed happy for the first time in ages."

Robert laughed. "You're daft! Have you ever thought that may be due to a gorgeous local mechanic?"

Aaron smiled. "Are you sure you are not making the biggest mistake of your life? You are giving up so much for me."

"Aaron, I can have all the money in the world but if I'm not happy, what is the point? All I need is you." He kissed him hard, pushing him back on the bed. Buffy did not up much resistance and soon took her place on the camp-bed.

They were both woken the following morning by the alarm. "It's too early." Robert moaned trying to find it to switch it off.

"I have to get up as I have to put in a few hours at the scrapyard before I head into York for my appointment."

Robert kissed his forehead. "I am still coming with you unless you would rather I didn't. I want to understand what you are going through. Look you have a shower. I'll go and make us some breakfast unless of course Diane is down there."

Robert put his dressing gown on and headed downstairs. Chas was making some breakfast. "Morning!" he announced cheerily.

"Hi." Chas replied hesitantly.

"You cannot get used to this, can you?" He commented. "I do appreciate you giving us a chance."

Chas managed a smile. "Just don't hurt Aaron and we won't have a problem. I am not blind; I can see that you have strong feelings for each other and what you did for Alicia takes a lot of guts. Carry on the way you are going and who knows we could maybe even get on."

Robert smirked. "I think that could be pushing things a little."

Aaron and Robert had a quick breakfast together before he headed off to the scrapyard whilst Robert decided to lie low.

A few hours later, Chas heard banging on the side door. "Robert!" It was Chrissie.

"She sounds desperate to get back with you." She suggested to Robert who appeared from the back room.

"I think it is more likely that Lachlan's solicitor has called to say they are reopening the case. David probably took the evidence to the police this morning." He explained.

"Shall I let her in?" Chas asked.

"I will." He said.

"I'll be in the bar if you need me." She replied.

He opened the door to see a red faced Chrissie. He had come to recognise her moods over the years and this was one of the worst he had ever seen. She pushed past him and went into the back room.

He followed preparing himself for the onslaught.

"What the hell have you done?" She screamed at him.

"Can you give me a clue?" he asked trying to calm her down.

"You gave copies of the photos to David and Alicia. Why have you turned against my family? What have we ever done for you except pull you out of the gutter nine years ago?"

"Chrissie, you are acting like Lachlan has done nothing wrong. He needs professional help or he will do something a lot worse than this."

"How dare you?" She slapped him. "Once dad finds out about this, you will be wishing you had never crossed paths with the White family."

"At least I can live with my conscience. Can you?" He asked her, noticing a hesitation appearing on her face.

"Of course I can. He is my son and I will stop at nothing to protect him." She fired back just as Diane came into the room.

"Look, I would ask what is going on here but I can hear the whole conversation from upstairs. The bar is just about to open and I will not have the customers listening to this."

Chrissie looked at Diane. "Have you heard what he has done?"

"I have now." She replied. "And I think he has done the right thing." She backed Robert up. "Alicia cannot be made to feel that this is her fault. Go and ask her what your son did."

Chrissie shook her head. "I don't want to hear some lies."

"Maybe if you took time to talk to her you would realise they weren't lies." Diane replied.

Chrissie paused for a moment before bursting into tears. "I have failed Lachlan haven't I?"

Diane looked at Robert puzzled why he was not taking this opportunity to support his wife. He looked at his watch and realised that he needed to pick Aaron up to get to York in time for this appointment.

"Look Chrissie, why don't you and talk to Alicia and David to get their version of events." Robert announced.

She looked up at him, her eyes wet from the tears. "Ok, but will you come with me?"

Robert shook his head. "I can't. I have an appointment at 12 and I cannot miss it."

"What appointment? I think under the circumstances that you should cease doing any work for Home Farm until we work out this mess you have created."

He looked at her. "Chrissie, this is not Home Farm Business. It is something to do with the scrapyard. I invested my own money in that one so you don't have any say over it."  
Robert just left and drove off in Aaron's car to pick him up.

He could hear the giggles outside of the portacabin. "Am I interrupting?" Robert said as he entered. Aaron could hear the jealousy in his voice. "Do you want to go now otherwise we will be cutting it fine?"

Aaron smiled at Adam. "I should be back about 3pm to finish up that car. If you need me, just text me."

Aaron headed to the car. "I'll drive." He put his hands out and waited for the keys. They both got in and headed off.

"Rob, what was all that about in the cabin? You seemed off."

"I just wish you and me could be as close as you are to Adam."

Aaron put his hand on his knee. "I think you and me are slightly closer than I am to Adam."

"Not as friends though."

"We are getting there. I think we just need to spend more time talking but we always seem to get distracted."

"I know. Our relationship has always been so intense due to lack of time and opportunity but now things are different. We have more time to talk." Robert pointed out.

"Yeah I suppose but it is still going to be difficult with Diane and other distractions."

The therapy session went well and soon they were headed back to Emmerdale. "I am still in shock. You didn't have to do that."

"Aaron, I am your boyfriend and no-one is ever going to find out from people in your therapy group. I found it interesting to be honest. Before now it made no sense why someone would voluntarily inflict pain on themselves. We will get through this." Robert looked over from the driver's seat.

He continued. "I have been thinking about 'us' and I heard Ruby and Ali were moving to Liverpool. I don't think Rachel and Sam can afford the rent so why don't we see if we can rent it. It is one of the few houses not linked to Home Farm so Lawrence will have no control over it."

Aaron smiled. "I would love to but there are two problems – people would find out about us and do we have enough money ourselves. I mean the scrapyard is just taking off and you are not going to have a job."

"I do have irons in other fires. The scrapyard is not my only security policy. I always make sure I have a back up plan. Let's put it this way, I can easily put down a deposit on a house and I was wondering if you could come car hunting with me this weekend. I will have to downgrade from my Audi but I am sure I can cope."

"Are we going to Bar West tonight?" Aaron asked.

"Yes, of course. You arrange it with Vic and Adam and let me know."

"Don't mention it to Vic as I think Adam is going to play a joke on her. She just thinks I have a new boyfriend but she has no idea it's you. Her face will be a picture." Aaron replied.

As they pulled back into the outskirts of the village, Robert jumped out of the car so not to make people suspicious. Robert noticed the police car outside of David and Alicia's house and wondered what was happening. He headed back to the pub to find out….


	19. Chapter 19

“Robert, where have you been?” Diane asked as she walked in the door of the back room to find him watching TV.

“I’ve been at a meeting. Why?” he replied cheerily.

“All hell has broken loose here. Chrissie stayed for a while after you left and I managed to talk her into talking to Alicia. She has gone and now the police are there. I think you need to go and find out what is happening. She needs your support, Robert.” 

Robert got up and shut the door. “Diane, there is something you need to know before you go match-making for us to get back together again.”

Diane sat next to him with a puzzled look on her face. “What is it, pet?”

“I don’t know how to put this but basically Chrissie and I are over.”

“But she will take you back?” Diane interrupted.

“I don’t want her to. I want it to be over and I have for a while now. I was wrong to go through with the wedding.” Robert explained.

“Well I am speechless. You have been so settled and happy for months. I honestly thought she was the one after the years of uncertainty and doubt.”

“Diane, Chrissie is not the reason for my happiness. I have met someone else.” He replied.

“Not again! Robert, I am probably speaking out of turn here but why throw it away for another fling. How long has this being going on?”

“Since December and yes I know that Katie was on to me.”

“She knew you were cheating but I can’t expect you to admit to it. We have all had affairs and been at the receiving end of them.” Diane admitted. “What makes this one any different? You have always had a wandering eye.”

“I love them. It crept up on me when I didn’t expect it. I cannot let them go. This is it for me.” She could hear the sincerity and the emotion in his voice was evident.

“She must be very special. Do I know her?” She asked.

Just then the door opened and Aaron walked in. “Good timing as always.” Robert smirked leaving Aaron confused.

Diane looked at Aaron and then gave Robert a look for being so sarcastic with him. “Don’t worry about him, Aaron. He doesn’t mean it.”

Aaron was unsettled. “I was just going to make a cuppa but if I am interrupting something, I will make myself scarce.”

“Don’t worry, pet. Robert can tell me later.”

Robert smiled. “No its fine. Come in.”

Diane got up. “We can talk later.”

“You do know them, Diane.” Robert continued.

“We can talk about it later.” She was uncomfortable.

“No it’s fine. Aaron, do you mind if I talk about the person I am seeing since you already know.” Robert asked.

Aaron went red with embarrassment. “No why would I? I am fine with it.” He did not mind if Diane was in on the relationship but he did wonder how the conversation had turned to this, given how secretive Robert usually was.

“Please don’t tell me she is married. You do like to choose complicated relationships.” Diane laughed racking her brain to think who it could be.

“No, he is not married.” 

Diane was about to reply but then the word ‘he’ registered. “He? You are seeing a man.”

“Yes, I am.” Robert said shooting a look across at Aaron who was just smiling nervously. Diane clocked the look. 

“Oh… I didn’t expect that.” She was shocked. “I didn’t know you were interested in men.”

“I have been on and off for years but Aaron is the first one that I have fallen for in a major way. This is not some phase I am going through. I love him.” He saw Aaron’s expression change instantly before a smile crossed his face. “Aaron has actually made me question whether I am gay.”

“I honestly don’t know what to say. I am shocked. Who else knows?”

“Chas, Paddy, Rhona, David and Alicia but other than that we need to keep it quiet until we work out how we are going to tell Chrissie and Lawrence. There will be repercussions and I have to work out how we will deal with them before all hell breaks loose.” 

Diane got up and hugged Robert. “Robert, you are family and I want to know that I am 100% behind you no matter what. Thank you for telling me.”

Across the village, Emma was wondering how to inflict the most damage on Chas. She knew that Chas’s relationship with James was on a knife-edge and he felt she was keeping things from him. She had considered telling James but she worked out she could do much more damage by telling the source of village gossip – Val. She headed across with a prescription for Val that she had been able to get her hands on at the local surgery.

“Val! I thought I would bring your script because I know how busy you are. I was wondering if you would like to have a coffee as we have not had a good catch-up for ages. There is something I wanted to ask you.”

“I am very busy, Emma. How about some other time?” Val asked trying to get rid of her.

“I have just found out that someone is having an affair and I wanted your opinion about whether I should tell their other half.” Emma announced.

Val smiled at her. “In that case, come in and I will put the kettle on.”

“I assume you mustn’t know about it, Val. I thought Diane might have told you about it with Robert being her son and all.” Emma did not waste any time announcing the gossip.

“Don’t tell me Robert has been cheating again. He has never stayed faithful for long.” Val almost rubbed her hands with glee. “Although I must admit I thought he would try harder when you consider the lifestyle the White’s give him.”

“So do you think I should tell Chrissie and Lawrence? She has a right to know and he may move on to Finn next.”

“Finn?” Val was puzzled. “What has Finn got to do with Robert?”

“Oh, I thought you would know that Robert had gay tendencies.”

Val laughed. “Now I know you are imagining things. Robert is not gay.” 

“Well that’s funny because I saw him outside a gay bar in Hotten kissing Aaron and it was not some friendly peck on the cheek if you catch my drift.” Emma announced. “I swear on my life that I saw them kissing and it’s all very convenient that Robert has moved in the pub, isn’t it.”

Val was dying to see Diane. “Look I don’t believe it. I really need to get on.” She more or less pushed Emma out of the door.

Emma smiled as she knew it would not be long before the gossip would be right around the village.

Val came into the Woolpack in a flurry, seeing Chas at the bar. “Chas, is Diane around? I need to talk to her about a very personal matter.” 

“She is around the back. Just go through.” 

Val burst in the back room to find a suddenly hushed atmosphere with Robert looking at Aaron. Diane broke the silence. “Hi, what can I do for you?” She could hear the breathlessness in her sister’s voice.

“I needed to talk to you in private.” Val announced.

Aaron looked at Robert. “Ok, we are heading out anyway. Robert, can I talk to you about the scrapyard in the bar.” 

Diane grabbed a cup of tea for Val. “Sit down and tell me what has got you all a fluster?”

“I’ll just come out and ask. Is Robert having an affair with Aaron?” She asked.

The reaction from her sister answered her question. Diane recomposed herself. “What are you on, Val? Where on earth would you get such an idea?”

“Emma told me that she saw them kissing outside a bar.” 

Diane sat back. “Ok, I am not going to get past you. Yes, it’s true but I have only just found out myself. We need to warn them before Emma tells everyone.”

“So he is having a gay fling behind Chrissie’s back?” She queried.

“It is not a fling, Val. This is the real deal. Don’t ask me how I know but I know. Robert and Chrissie are over.” 

“Oh my god, I didn’t expect to hear that.”

“When you see Emma could you try and put her off the scent. Lawrence will not accept this one quietly when he finds out so we need to delay it as long as possible. At the moment, Chrissie does not know Robert has cheated. She chucked him out anyway because he handed over some evidence to incriminate Lachlan over the assault on Alicia.”

“Well he has gone up in my estimation.” Val smiled.

“I will tell Robert and Aaron about Emma. We need to put on a united front when the secret comes out. Robert is family and I will not stand by and let Lawrence hurt him. He was wrong to cheat on Chrissie but he does not deserve the revenge that it seems that his father in law will direct at him and Aaron for that matter.”


	20. Chapter 20

Diane caught up with Aaron in the back room. "Aaron, I think you may have problems. Apparently Emma has seen you and Robert kissing and she is not keeping quiet about it."

Suddenly James walked in. He appeared flustered. "Have you seen Chas?" He then shot a confused look at Aaron before leaving.

"He obviously knows! I will have to tell Rob because it will only be a matter of time before Chrissie and Lawrence find out."

"If you and Robert plan on being together anyway, it may be an idea just to get the confession out of the way otherwise you are going to worry about people finding out. Pre-empt it and you are more in control of the situation." Diane suggested. "Although I would get Robert to tell Andy as soon as possible as he is going to be very upset that Katie was made to look crazy when she accused him of having an affair."

"I will have a word with him." He pulled out his phone and texted Robert telling him to meet him by the bridge.

Ten minutes later, Aaron pulled up in his Golf and they drove off. "Where are we off to?" Rob asked.

"I thought we could go for some lunch somewhere. We need to talk."

Soon they were sat in a pub in Hotten. Aaron told him about the problems and what Diane had said.

"I needed more time to come up with a plan. This is not going to end well." Robert announced. "Is there no way Emma is going to keep quiet? I don't know her very well. Would it be worthwhile talking her out of blabbing?"

"No way. She is a troublemaker. Debbie said not to trust her at any cost. How are we going to announce this?"

"Let's not announce it. Let's just head into the Woolpack as a couple. It is quiz night tonight, isn't it? It will be busy and news will soon travel back to Chrissie and Lawrence."

"Are you mad?" Aaron asked in shock.

"So do you not want to?"

Aaron smiled briefly. "I have always wanted for us to be able to act like a couple but I didn't expect it so soon. Let's do it. I will text Adam and tell them to meet us in the Woolpack."

They decided not to pre-warn anyone as luckily Andy was visiting a friend in the Lake District for a few days so he would not hear about it until his return.

Aaron felt nervous taking a seat next to Robert. Vic and Adam soon joined them. "What's with the change of venue?"

"You'll find out." Robert announced as he shifted across the seat closer to Aaron. Aaron almost instinctively moved away but he felt Robert's hand on his knee motioning for him to stay where he was.

Vic was soon in full chat mood about her recent visit to the cookery class. "I will have to cook for you and Chrissie sometime."

"We are not together anymore, Vic." Rob announced. "I'll get the some more drinks in."

As he got up, he made a point of whispering something suggestively in Aaron's ear making a smile appear across his face.

Vic looked twice but then dismissed it as nonsense. Robert grabbed a few tequila shots to go with the pints. He was struggling to be flirtatious with Aaron in public. He had convinced himself to hide his sexuality for so long that he needed some dutch courage to come out.

Aaron noticed Robert was downing them like they were going out of fashion so he decided to take the initiative during the next break in the quiz.

"Rob, are you drunk? I am a bit." Aaron put on a slurred voice for effect. He spoke quite loudly so Vic would hear. "I hope you don't get too drunk." He then gave him an adoring look that he had only saved for private moments.

"I promise not to get too drunk."

After an hour, both Aaron and Robert were very affected by the alcohol and were now at the goofy looks stage.

Vic looked at them both. "Is this a joke? Adam, do you not think these two are acting weird? Almost like they are flirting with each other."

"Not really, babe! They are a couple after all."

"A couple." Vic replied. "You are kidding me." She looked away from Adam only to see a sight that had the rest of the pub awash with gasps of shock. Aaron and Robert were kissing for the whole pub to see. They were not holding back either.

A minute or so later, they managed to pull apart to see every person in the pub staring at them including Chas and Diane.

"Do you think we got the desired reaction?" Robert smiled before kissing him quickly on the lips.

Vic was in complete shock. "What just happened? Rob, why have you just snogged Aaron's face off."

Robert stood up. "In case you are wondering Aaron and I are dating and if anyone has a problem with it… tough!"

It worked. Everyone looked away although the mutterings continued.

Diane came over. "That was a bit full-on, Robert."

"You told us to pre-empt it so that is what we did."

"I had something a little more subtle in mind but at least it is all out in the open now. It won't be long before it is back to Chrissie." Diane commented.

Robert put his arm around Aaron's shoulders.

"We need to talk about this." Vic demanded an explanation.

"Can we talk about it tomorrow, Vic? We will have plenty of explaining to do."

Eric was sat at the corner table with Val, David and Alicia. "I cannot believe that. Do you think it is a wind-up?"

David shook his head. "It is 100% serious. Alicia and I have known for a few days."

Eric looked at Val. "I thought you would be more shocked unless you knew as well." He joked on.

"I did. I was sworn to secrecy. Diane told me."

Just then Emma walked in with Ross and Finn. She shot a look across at Robert and Aaron. "They are being a bit obvious tonight." She said loudly so Finn heard. "I must say it was a shock to find out Robert is gay being married and all."

Finn looked at her. "What are you on about?"

"Robert and Aaron are a couple." Emma said loudly.

"No way. Robert's not gay." Finn replied.

"Well it seems like he is." Tracy said out loud. "You missed out on the snogfest a few minutes ago. I almost ran to the toilet to chuck up my dinner."

Emma went red. She had wanted to announce the shocking news but she had been beaten to it.

Robert smiled and raised his glass to an annoyed Emma.

Vic would not let go. "Robert, can we talk in the back?" She grabbed his hand and dragged him through.

"Please tell me this is a joke!" She repeated. "You have had a lot to drink so that would explain it…right."

Robert sat down. "This is real, Vic. We have been together since December." He announced but wished he hadn't as he had now implicated himself in making Katie look like a liar.

"But Katie knew and you let people think she was off her head?"

"I regret that but Vic, affairs are hidden for a reason. No one would have an affair and announce it to everyone just because someone was on to them. I will talk to Andy the first chance I get when he comes back. He will be angry but I am not going to leave Aaron to keep everyone happy."

"But this is obviously just some phase. Why are you suddenly interested in men?"

"Vic, I have been interested in men for over 7 years so it is nothing new but this is the only time I have cheated on Chrissie. I thought she was it for me but then Aaron came along and blew me away. I love him more than I ever have anyone. He gets me more than anyone ever has and he is fiercely loyal."

"Chrissie will be devastated and publicly humiliated." Vic suggested.

"Yes I know but I cannot stay with her under false pretences. There will be major repercussions from both Lawrence and Chrissie but I need to be with Aaron. I would risk anything for that."

Vic was taken aback by the strength of his feelings. "You do love him, don't you? I cannot say I am happy for you as you have a habit of being fickle with your love life. I will support you Robert but give me time to get used to it."

Robert wandered back out to the pub to continued whispers and looks. This was the easy part. Dealing with the Whites was going to be another story…

THE END


End file.
